A New York Time's critic compared him to Francisco De Goya's depiction of the Napoleonic Wars. When giants fight, these pictures say, others must suffer. An emotional suffering is captured by this work by the late Cleveland Wright. It recreates a cold, wrenching moment of loss for the family left behind by a soldier who won't be coming home. Sharing this space are weapons and other souvenirs, tokens of remembrance.
Souvenir is an old French word.
It means to recall. The memories depicted the walls echo off the enduring reality of the artifacts that separate them. Some viewers are troubled that there is not more grandeur or military glory here. Dark themes dominate. But here and there a glimmer of unblemished beauty catches the eye.