Teddy Bears

Oddly moving, serious, fine-art paintings of people's beloved Teddy Bears. In 1995, San Francisco artist Beth Van Hoesen began painting teddy bears, a subject perplexing to those who knew her as a serious painter and printmaker. Over the next five years, she borrowed dozens of stuffed bears to create a collection celebrating the teddy bear - not as a cultural icon, but as a lifelong companion. She treats her subject with truth and affection, creating strangely intimate portraits of these 36 bears, each accompanied by a few words from the bear's owner or maker.