Elspeth Young: AND THOU DIDST HEAR ME

 (I haven't included the image because it says DO NOT COPY, but you can view it here.)

THE STORY:

"The figure in the painting constitutes a visualization of the broken heart and contrite spirit of genuine prayer (Psalms 34:18, Doctrine and Covenants 59:8, Ether 4:15).  To pray in such an attitude of worship or contrition brings one’s own soul closer to God, who bears the afflictions and pains of all of His children.  Only thus can one more clearly see and understand one's own plight and receive, and more fully understand and appreciate, the healing He offers. . .

"The model for this painting is native to Ghana, Africa, and is presented in token of the declaration: God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth (Alma 26:37)" (Al Young Studios).

Here's a wonderful interview with the model for this painting, whose grandfather was an LDS pioneer in West Africa.

THE ANALYSIS: 

The simplicity of this painting is gorgeous. The figure is a triangle, with the woman's bowed head forming the top and her billowing white skirts the base. The empty space of the implied line of the triangle on the right gives the painting a feeling of stillness and peace--and reminds us that the prayer is not going into empty air but to Heavenly Father. That empty space speaks to me of anticipation and knowledge that prayers are always heard. This woman is not simply praying. She is communicating. Listening. Waiting.

The artist Elspeth Young says, “At one point when I was finishing the painting I actually painted some roses scattered around her . . .I really liked the roses themselves but they just interfered with the message of the painting. There was an innate reverence to the piece … so I painted them back out. I do like the simplicity, and therefore the innate purity, that Jo displays within the painting.”

PERSONAL IMPACT: This painting hangs by the women's dressing rooms in the Denver Temple, and it makes me happy every time I see it. I love Elspeth Young's work. But what really gets me about this painting is that it reminds me:

• That God is no respecter of persons
• That He denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female
• That all are alike unto Him.

(I guess I could have just linked to 2 Nephi 26:33.)

Sometimes when I read the scriptures, I hunger for more stories, words, experiences, from women. Same with religious paintings. I want more images of faithful women. And I want more images of all kinds of women--different races, ages, abilities, styles, personalities. I haven't seen many LDS paintings of black women hanging in the temple, and it feels right every time I see it. We wear white in the temple so we all look the same, so worldly distinctions disappear in our mutual quest for purity. And God needs all His daughters there, not just the medium age, slender, light brown-haired white women we often see portrayed.