Today is Mother’s Day and I want to congratulate all mothers, grandmothers and mothers-to-be. Being a parent is a beautiful thing and it has been portrayed by many different artists throughout art history. Artists expressed admiration for motherhood in variety of ways – some artists, like Van Gogh, created portraits of their mother and you can see tenderness and love in paintings; some artist captures the most intimate moment of mother and child – breastfeeding; and many partners and photographers captured mothers during pregnancy.

I would like to list top five my favourite artworks that celebrate motherhood.

David Hockney – My Mother

This is the collage made from photographs portraying Davids mother at the graveyard. Mothers face is deeply moving, it makes me sympathise with her. Laura Hockney was often subject of her sons artworks, he admired her strength and character.

A. Suvorov and A. Izmodenov – Sailor’s Wife

This sculpture is proudly displayed in port of Russian city Novorossiysk. This bronze artwork has many unofficial titles, one of them is “Mother and Child”. Sculpture symbolises all wives and mothers waiting for their beloved mariners to return from the sea.

Gustav Klimt – Hope, II

Klimt has many paintings portraying pregnant women, mothers and children and Hope II is my favourite. It is beyond words beautiful and very deep. The painting is about life, death and hope: every new life is hope.

Howard Coster – Mother and Child

Howard Coster was a British photographer of the end 19th and beginning of 20th century. This vintage bromide print was created in 1930s and now is displayed in National Portrait Gallery. There is something about mothers’ eyes and smile that makes me look at it and admire.

Anna Rose Bain – The Wait and the Reward

Anna is a contemporary artist and a mom of two beautiful girls. She has many portraits of her children as well as self portraits during pregnancy. I think Anna captures feeling perfectly, that tenderness and love that mother experiences when waiting for her baby.