Ellis Island

When I visited this great port-of-entry for some 22 million immigrants, I was profoundly moved by a new appreciation for the powerful promise of American freedom. The dream of a better life for themselves and their families prompted so many to attempt the perilous voyage. Seasick and heartsick, packed into the holds of overcrowded ships, our parents and grandparents bid farewell to the world they had known and headed bravely into an unknowable future.

For them, Ellis Island – neighboring the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor – represented the commencement of that future.

I tried to see the island through the eyes of an immigrant – weary, wary, proud, immensely, hopeful. The formidable government buildings must have inspired a mix of hope and fear. For most, they were portals to opportunity, but for some they were the end of a dream. The massive wooden beams once anchoring the boats that ferried the hopeful to a new life still stand in the harbor. What stories they could tell!

As I painted Ellis Island, it seemed to me that some of those stories of courage and adventure whispered in my ear.