John Brownlee

The Alzheimer's Self-Portraits of William Utermohlen

In 1996, American artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Partly to chronicle the way his affliction affected his art and partly as a way to fight his despondency as his faculties gradually slipped away, Untermohlen began painting a yearly self-portrait. From the New York Times piece: The paintings starkly reveal the artist’s descent into […]
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In 1996, American artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Partly to chronicle the way his affliction affected his art and partly as a way to fight his despondency as his faculties gradually slipped away, Untermohlen began painting a yearly self-portrait.

From the New York Times piece:

The paintings starkly reveal the artist’s descent into dementia, as his world began to tilt, perspectives flattened and details melted away. His wife and his doctors said he seemed aware at times that technical flaws had crept into his work, but he could not figure out how to correct them.

Utermohlen no longer paints and lives in a nursing home, but his paintings are haunting testimony to the relationship that can exist between genius and dementia.

Self-Portraits Chronicle a Descent Into Alzheimer’s [NY Times, login: tablemalcontent, pass: tablemalcontent]

Slideshow of Utermohlen's Self-Portraits [NY Times]