It's 3:00 a.m. No way to sleep. Imaginary bedbugs chewing at me. The air is oppressive, like being buried alive. The cries of asthmatic children sniffling, screaming, sleep-talking keeps me on edge. In semi-darkness I wander among the beds, seeing mothers wrapped around their babies, like bears in hibernation. In one lower bunk, I find an exhausted mother, Pam, rocking her wailing week-old daughter. Pams face glows with inner peace. She is one of the lucky ones. She escaped an abusive relationship and found shelter here. Olive Branch Mission, Chicago.

1999

Donna Ferrato

Artist, American, born 1949

Donna Ferrato

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Gift of Donna Ferrato)

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 40.5 × 50.5 cm (15 15/16 × 19 7/8 in.)
    image: 33 × 49.1 cm (13 × 19 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.5139


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Donna Ferrato, New York; gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2009; acquired by NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1999

  • The Way Home: Ending Homelessness in America, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, December 4, 1999 – January 30, 2000

Inscriptions

on verso, signed by artist, across center in graphite: © Donna Ferrato


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