Funeral Procession-by Ellis Wilson

Growing up, I remember seeing this picture on wall at the Huxtables house. It was part of just about every household in America for years. It always hung on their wall in their living room but was never really discussed; it just 'was'. Today I happened to see the picture online and decided to look it up, not realizing that it was supposed to be a funeral procession, which happens to also be the name of the piece. On the Cosby Show, Claire Huxtable supposedly won the picture in an auction for $11,000! She claimed that the picture was created by her great uncle Ellis (Ellis Wilson is the creator of the piece). According to Wikipedia, the most that any Ellis Wilson painting went for was $300 so the price that Claire paid was quite extravagant!  

What a great piece though. Looking closely you see that there are no faces; no expressions; no emotions. In understanding the days of slavery, many of the slaves weren't allowed to have weddings or funerals or parties or show much emotion. The faceless people, to me, represent the people who lost their names, their families, their true identities due to slavery. The piece also shows children standing with their parents and family, which follows up my post about the importance of kids being at funerals. It also seems to show a long line of funeral goers coming to say their goodbyes. This was a very loved person at this funeral. Each woman is bringing flowers to adorn the body and graveside as they come to say their goodbyes and pay their respect.

I fell in love with this picture thanks to the Cosby Show and still love it to this day. I used to dream that it was hanging in my house, and still would love to have it as a piece of artwork someday. It's always spoken volumes to my heart. 

~*~Sunday Simplicity~*~ 10/28/12

10 things I learned this week about death &funerals:

Yes, I took a picture at the cemetery. 

10. Funeral homes still smell funny.

9. Getting the family ready to go is as bad as a Sunday morning. There WILL be arguments and fighting and you WILL run late.

8. Family members who haven't been around for YEARS will suddenly show up, crying and emotional, and acting like they always cared.

7. Funeral processions are an accident waiting to happen! Driving behind an off duty police officer makes it even worse. Speed up, slam on the brakes. Repeat.

6. Everyone will 'know you when you were this big' but have no clue who you are now.

5. Funerals are full of cliches, but so many people rely on those for comfort and peace so they become part of every Christian funeral.

4. People will surprise you. The ones you expect to be there for you, aren't and the ones you never expect, show up! You will quickly learn a lot about the relationships in your life.

3. People really mean the best when they give you a hug and say "I'm so sorry for your loss"

2. Death is final, but memories are not.

1. Raw emotions are incredibly powerful and can overtake you at any time. There is a quote I found that says  “Memories are what warm you up from the inside. But they're also what tear you apart.”