Talks & Conversations

Finding Awe: Archibald John Motley Jr.'s Portrait of My Grandmother

Part of Finding Awe
Shown from the knees up, a woman with brown, wrinkled skin, wearing a white blouse, apron, and black skirt is shown in front of a pale gray background in this vertical portrait painting. Straight-backed, she faces and looks at us with her hands resting in her lap. Her wavy, iron-gray hair is parted in the center and pulled back from her face. Her eyebrows are slightly raised, and her face is deeply lined down her cheeks and around her mouth. She wears a heart-shaped brooch with a red stone at its center at her neck and a gold band on her left ring finger. The light coming from our left casts a shadow against the wall to our right. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner: “A.J. MOTLEY. JR. 1922.”
Archibald John Motley Jr., Portrait of My Grandmother, 1922, oil on canvas, Patrons' Permanent Fund, Avalon Fund, and Motley Fund, 2018.2.1

When have you been moved by the wonder of others? Consider how artists have depicted people they admire in portraits. Reflect and honor those whose kindness, courage, or resilience has inspired you.

During this 90-minute pause from your daily route, we’ll look slowly and mindfully at Archibald John Motley Jr.'s Portrait of My Grandmother. You’ll be invited to look closely, wonder, and share your insights with the group.  Together, we’ll learn “awe practices” that you can bring to your everyday life.  

The workshop exploring Portrait of My Grandmother will be offered on January 9 at 2:15 p.m. and on January 10 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. We encourage you to register for one workshop on this topic and to join us for future topics as well.

Register on Thursday, January 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. When the workshop is full, the registration button will stop working. Due to last-minute cancellations, check back on the morning of the workshop for available tickets. Ages 18 and up. Questions? Email us at [email protected].

“Finding Awe” is grounded in the National Gallery’s mission to welcome all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity. It offers new “awe practices” drawn from the research of Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, director of The Greater Good Science Center, and author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (2023). Research shows that experiences of awe help support mental and physical wellbeing and open us up to greater creativity and deeper empathy. 

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Talks & Conversations:  Finding Awe: Thomas Moran’s Green River Cliffs, Wyoming 

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Registration Required
Sheer, vertical, cliffs, brightly lit in cream white and rust orange by the low sun, tower over a band of people riding horses into the distance in this long, horizontal landscape painting. The glowing cliffs dominate the upper right quadrant of the painting. They lighten from burnt orange along the jagged tops to flame orange down the steep sides, and are and warm, parchment white near the earth. One tall, narrow promontory to our right looms over a range of lower, rounded cliffs. As the cliffs move into the distance, they are shrouded with a lavender-purple haze. The land closest to us dips into a shallow valley at the bottom center of the composition, leading away from us. The dirt-packed earth is dotted with pine-green, scrubby bushes and vegetation and a grove of low, gnarled trees a short distance to our right. One chestnut-brown horse walks along the path at the bottom center of the composition, lagging behind a cluster of at least two dozen horses and riders winding into the distance. The horses range from ivory white to tawny brown and charcoal gray. The riders are loosely painted so some details are indistinct, but they all seem to have brown skin and dark hair. They wear feathered headdresses and garments in teal blue, fawn brown, or golden yellow. They ride over a low hill toward a crystal-blue river, and then back along a flat expanse toward a row of minuscule, triangular tepees lining the horizon in the deep distance. The horizon comes halfway up the composition, and the tepees are backed by a row of rose-pink, flat-topped cliffs. A pale yellow disk hangs low in the sky, over the distant cliffs. The sky above deepens from soft, lilac purple along the horizon to ice and sapphire blue along the top. A few wispy clouds are burnished orange in the sunlight. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner, “TYMoran 1881,” with the T, Y, and M overlapping to make a monogram.

Talks & Conversations:  Finding Awe: Thomas Moran’s Green River Cliffs, Wyoming 

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Registration Required
Sheer, vertical, cliffs, brightly lit in cream white and rust orange by the low sun, tower over a band of people riding horses into the distance in this long, horizontal landscape painting. The glowing cliffs dominate the upper right quadrant of the painting. They lighten from burnt orange along the jagged tops to flame orange down the steep sides, and are and warm, parchment white near the earth. One tall, narrow promontory to our right looms over a range of lower, rounded cliffs. As the cliffs move into the distance, they are shrouded with a lavender-purple haze. The land closest to us dips into a shallow valley at the bottom center of the composition, leading away from us. The dirt-packed earth is dotted with pine-green, scrubby bushes and vegetation and a grove of low, gnarled trees a short distance to our right. One chestnut-brown horse walks along the path at the bottom center of the composition, lagging behind a cluster of at least two dozen horses and riders winding into the distance. The horses range from ivory white to tawny brown and charcoal gray. The riders are loosely painted so some details are indistinct, but they all seem to have brown skin and dark hair. They wear feathered headdresses and garments in teal blue, fawn brown, or golden yellow. They ride over a low hill toward a crystal-blue river, and then back along a flat expanse toward a row of minuscule, triangular tepees lining the horizon in the deep distance. The horizon comes halfway up the composition, and the tepees are backed by a row of rose-pink, flat-topped cliffs. A pale yellow disk hangs low in the sky, over the distant cliffs. The sky above deepens from soft, lilac purple along the horizon to ice and sapphire blue along the top. A few wispy clouds are burnished orange in the sunlight. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner, “TYMoran 1881,” with the T, Y, and M overlapping to make a monogram.

Talks & Conversations:  Finding Awe: Thomas Moran’s Green River Cliffs, Wyoming 

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Registration Required