Impressions

Two Women with Mangoes

by Paul Gauguin

It all started with a google search for pictures of women. One of the first links was to a site of paintings of women. When I saw this one it immediately reminded me of a great teacher I had in junior high school.

I was a military brat, 13 years old, living in Japan and I was attending a DOD (Dept of Defense) school.

Miss Halford would bring in a different print of a painting each week. The prints were mostly of impressionists. The print would hang in the classroom for a week and then on Fridays we were asked to journal about it. There were no limits on what our remarks could be or the length. Who knew at the time it would have an impact on me so many years later?

When I finally got to Paris a few years ago and went to the Musee D'Orsay and saw some of the actual paintings I'd first seen as prints in Miss Halford's class, I cried. Yeah, real tears! It was such an incredible feeling to feel linked to these paintings.

I stood in front of a couple of Van Gogh paintings for 10 minutes looking for those first impressions and thoughts I'd had so many years before.

Gauguin was one of the artists that shared our classroom. As soon as I saw this picture the memories came rushing back. So, here's to you Miss Halford...where ever you are!