Have you ever known a couple, seemingly married forever, that you've wanted to ask how they did it, what made their marriage last?
Marriage Portraits, Gleaned Wisdom From The Threshing Floor is a look into the marriages of twenty couples who have all been married over 45 years. Enjoy the view as you study the couples portraits, insightfully painted by Sara Hertford Beeby and you'll hear from the couples, in their own words, what they feel it takes to make a sustainable marriage.
In 2004, Sara Beeby's plan was simple. She began to honor the couples with a 30" x 30" oil painting of them and, in recompense, to request separate writings on marriage from each husband and wife. Her paintings were gifts to them and, in exchange, she received the gifts of their thoughtful, written expressions. They could be of any length and it was not a requirement that the couples refer to their own marriages. A poem or quotation would suffice. It was only essential that their contributions reflect their august wisdom for anyone hungry to learn the secrets. The pages In Marriage Portraits have been juxtaposed with the writings and the paintings as they invite you to glean the kernels of wisdom for a long and successful marriage.
Sara Hertford Beeby, a native of southern California, attended U.C. Berkeley and received a BA in Fine Art from the University of California, Davis. Her paintings as an undergraduate reflect the teachings of internationally recognized artists Erle Loran of U.C. Berkeley, and Roland Petersen, of U.C. Davis. Her current paintings are more influenced by the work of American and French Impressionists. Her enthusiasm for people and creating oil paintings of them in their environment has been the focus of her work for the last thirty years. She has had eight, one-woman exhibits in California and one in San José, Costa Rica, where she and her family lived for almost two years.