"I owe much to mother. She had an expert's understanding, but also approached art emotionally." - DavidDavid R Rockefeller

David Rockefeller, source of the quote up there, is 100 years old and the patriarch of that famous family. His mother was Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, daughter of Nelson Aldrich, a Rhode Island senator, and she later married the very, very wealthy John Davison Rockefeller. Their wedding in 1901 united two families at the top of society in terms of both influence and wealth.

Abby and John lived like the magnates they were, in monstrous mansions and stables of luxury cars. But they did some pretty significant charitable work, too. If you've been to Colonial Williamsburg you've experienced the results of one of their projects. (And if you haven't been there, get thee hence!!) That living history museum, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, was funded by Abby and John.

We had the privilege of spending several days there (allow no less than three) years ago with my parents. One of the museums there is the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum Folk Art Museum. Pam and I are admirers of American folk, or primitive art, and that museum, a portion of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller's collection of the form, has the best of the best - quilts, paintings, dolls, sculptures, whirligigs....

We could have spent all day at that museum, but both of us were especially struck by the portrait of Rosa Heywood, an otherwise unknown girl painted by an unknown artist. That's Rosa at the top of this post. I can't tell you why we loved that portrait so much except to say that like Abby Aldrich Rockefeller we had an emotional response to it.

At the end of the day our folks surprised us with something from the museum's gift shop, a very nice 17"x26" art poster of that portrait. That was probably 20 years ago and the print is still one of our favorite pieces of art. We had it framed as soon as we got home and it has occupied a prominent place in every home we've lived in since then. It currently hangs over our bed, and we will find someplace for it to hang in MoHo (may be the definition of incongruous), and then in our tiny house.

Every so often, like today when I was changing the bedding, I look at Rosa. Not just see, look. I still love that painting, and I'm still thankful my folks gave it to us. It carries a double blessing.