Family Portraits

CCAC #: 0001
Artwork title: Family Portraits
Artist(s): Lionel Abrams
Year made: 1991
Artwork type: Painting
Medium: Oil and acrylic on canvas
Dimensions (mm): 1532 x 1540
Artwork series: Proust series
Source: Donated by Marlene Abrams, the artist's wife
Year acquired: 1998
Installation type: Movable artwork
Current location: On private display
Signage:

Family Portraits (1991) is a painting by Lionel Abrams, made using oil and acrylic on canvas. It forms part of the artist’s Proust series. Rather than showing a clear image of a family, the work uses abstract shapes, lines and colours to suggest feelings and relationships.

Abrams combines careful detail with loose, expressive brushstrokes, creating a balance between control and freedom. The painting invites viewers to interpret it in their own way, encouraging personal reflection and different meanings.

Themes: Identity and representation
Intergenerational trauma
Constitutional links: Human dignity - constitutional value (section 1a, section 10)
Freedom of expression (section 16)

CCAC 427764

Photographer: Ben Law-Viljoen
Photo copyright: CCT

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NOTE: The process of photographing artworks in the CCAC is underway - we are currently working to improve image quality and display on the CMS but have included internal reference photos for identification purposes in the interim.