In Honor Of Mother's Day, A Look At The Moms Of Art History

Happy Mother's Day!

Since -- as they say -- a picture's worth a thousand words, we'd like to pay homage to every mom with a collection of artworks that put mothers on parade. Behold, the beautiful mommas of art history, from the woman who birthed Whistler to a Pieta to a massive sculpture of a spider dedicated to mamans everywhere.

Here's to the quiet but powerful moms out there

Wikimedia Commons

James Whistler, "Whistler's Mother," 1871
The ones who've literally washed our feet

Wikimedia Commons

Mary Cassatt, "The Bath," 1893
Who never leave us without a shoulder to cry on

Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

Cindy Sherman, "Untitled," 1976/1989, black and white photograph of a 1976 collage
Ever

Image courtesy of the artist and Lombard Freid Projects, NY

Motoyuki Daifu, "Family," 2011 c-print 30 x 40 inches
Who endlessly watch over us

Wikimedia Commons

Vincent Van Gogh, "Portrait of the artist's mother," 1888, oil on canvas
To the mothers who lovingly worry about their children

© The Lucian Freud Archive Photo © The Lucian Freud Archive

Lucian Freud, "The Painter's Mother," 1983 Charcoal and pastel on paper, 12 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (32.4 x 24.8 cm)
Who protect us

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Louise Bourgeois, "Maman," 1999, at Bürkliplatz, Zürich, Switzerland
Who've loved us since we were helpless babies

Wikimedia Commons

Adolphe Bouguereau, "Maternal Admiration," 1869
And helpless adults

Wikimedia Commons

Michelangelo, "Pieta," 1498
Who carried and carry us

Wikimedia Commons

Egon Schiele, "Tote Mutter," 1910
To the mommas who advise us

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Statue of Isis Holding the Child Horus, ca. 664-525 B.C.E.
Who provide for us

Wikimedia Commons

Dorothea Lange, "Migrant Mother With Three Children," 1936
Who love us no matter what

© The Estate of Alice Neel Courtesy David Zwirner, New York

Alice Neel, "Mother and Child," 1926
To the mothers who are never short on hugs

Wikimedia commons

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, "Mother and Daughter," 1789
Ever

Wikimedia Commons

Gustav Klimt, "Death and Life," 1908–1916
To our first teachers

Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Caroline H. Polhemus.

Platt Powell Ryder, "The Illustrated Newspaper," 1868. Oil on canvas, 16 7/8 x 13 13/16 in. (42.9 x 35.1 cm)
Who are always with us, even when they're not

Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas

Joan Miro, "Seated Woman and Child (Femme assise et enfant)," 1967 Painted bronze, 48 1/4 x 16 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (122.6 x 42.5 x 41.9 cm.)
Because moms are the best

Flickr: Reggie Rachuba

Fernando Botero, "Mother and Child," Bronze, 1988
And they deserve a day of celebration

Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund

Mary Cassatt, "Woman in a Red Bodice and Her Child," ca. 1901. Oil on canvas, 27 x 20 1/4 in. (68.6 x 51.4 cm)