In conjunction with his 20th Reunion, Ted Caine β04 re-created a show of his late motherβs 91΄σΙρ portraits and reflected on her enduring vision
“I like to paint people. I like especially to paint people that I can relate to, that are connected with my own life, people that I love.β So began the artist statement for Elizabeth Solley Caineβs exhibit, βThe Many Faces of 91΄σΙρ,β which she created in 2003 when her son, Ted Caine β04, was a junior. The showβwhich featured 26 evocative and deeply personal paintings of students and facultyβwas rehung in June at Reunion, as a celebration of her life, following Solley Caineβs death from cancer in 2023.
βMy mom always encouraged my creative side,β said Ted during his remarks at the showβs opening. βShe supported everything I did, which brought her to 91΄σΙρ campus often. She designed outfits for my dance ensemble pieces, posters for theater productions, and the set for our sophomore year musical, Guys and Dolls.β In 2003, Solley Caine embarked on the portrait project, doing 60-minute sessions with each model and, in the process, learning about their lives. βIβm struck by how she was able to capture the feelings behind the model,β says Caine. βIt wasnβt all happyβthere is a duality at play in the pieces; vibrant youth full of energy and life, and deep, sometimes dark, inner thoughts, worries, and concerns.β Caine, who works as the Chief of Staff of a comprehensive youth services nonprofit in New York City, says he sees this duality often in his own work.
Seeing classmates Solley Caine painted posing next to their original portraits moved many who attended the show. βIt was amazing how she captured a spark of each personβs spirit that you can still see today,β said Art Department Chair Natania Hume.
