FINDING MR. RIGHT- 2025

Materials: Vintage catalog images and personal photos, scrapbook paper, marker

Size: 8" x 11"

My mother’s sister had a difficult life. Born in a poor village in Poland to an essentially single mother, her father was frequently absent, a good thing since he was abusive and a detriment to their happiness. Never having had a good male role model she made poor choices in her relationships. After immigrating to Philadelphia she found her first husband, marrying him basically to get out of her parents’ household. Although it started out fine, eventually he became as bad as her father and she divorced him. A very uncommon situation in the ‘40s. Her second husband seemed to be a good match, shockingly he died after being run over by a train. No one ever knew if it was an accident or suicide but she was left alone with a three year old son.

As a child I remember her coming to stay at my home and getting all dressed up in fancy clothes and makeup to go to dances and socials where she hoped to meet a new father for her son. It never happened. When I saw the catalog ad for “His and Hers” aprons with the anonymous mystery man it made me think of her…and how she never was able to find her “His” no matter how hard she tried.