Many artists have to fight their families to dedicate themselves to their work. The family watches aghast as their child rejects a life of comfort for the difficult task of producing art in a competitive market with very little reward.
This can be the case even when the family is full of artists.
When I recently got an invitation to a show of work by three generations of artists in the same family, I could not help but think about how complicated that must be. Read Lockhart and his father produced work to display alongside the work of Read's deceased grandfather. Not only is it three generations, it is three generations of sons. Each produces different work than the others, each deeply related to the other two through the work, even when nothing else connects them.
I admire the strength that it takes to work alongside your family, not only for those who share the turmoil of a family business, but also in such contexts–where the work is to be in a gallery together. There is competition, even as there is support and communion. I do not actually believe that the Lockharts were competing against each other for sales, but rather am looking at the competition stemming from wanting to outdo one another in technique, design, style and flourish. To use that energy positively, to produce the excellent show that they did is true success, and I congratulate them for it.
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