Above: The Three Graces, American Christmas scene, c.1962

When I first posted this image at the Art Field store, I gave it the rushed title ‘The Three Graces’. I liked the sound of it and I knew it came from mythology. And I hoped it didn’t mean anything bad.

Recently, I gave a framed print of the picture to Stephanie Su, the founder of The Persu Collection, at the end of an event we worked on together. I didn’t foresee when I left my house that morning, gift bag in hand, how well the photograph of my mother, grandmother, and aunt would mirror our feelings at the end of the day. A workday gone well legitimizes us. A workday gone well working with other women elates and empowers us together.

So that day, I looked up the meaning of ‘The Three Graces’. In a description of Antonio Canova’s statue The Three Graces, I read that they were “the mythological three charites, daughters of Zeus…who were said to represent youth/beauty (Thalia), mirth (Euphrosyne), and elegance (Aglaea).”

The description continued, “The Graces presided over banquets and gatherings, to delight the guests of the gods.”

Daughters of gods, appearing at family gatherings to the delight of their loved ones and guests. Luckily, in naming the picture, I think I got it right.

Christmas in the Archive