Bingham used family members as subjects for various paintings throughout his career. One painting in particular, The Thread of Life, was probably made for Bingham’s second wife, Eliza Thomas Bingham. It was owned by descendants of her family until 1980. The painting represents a female figure sitting on a cloud and holding an infant. Beside the woman is a spindle from which the child draws a thread. This thread dangles below the baby and disappears behind the legs of the adult figure. In 1917 Fern Helen Rusk proposed that the painting commemorated the birth of James Rollins Bingham, the artist’s only child by Eliza.
Letters held at the State Historical Society indicate that Eliza Bingham experienced physical difficulty having children. This picture of a symbolic figure—perhaps Fate—supporting a child who is clutching “the thread of life” may not only celebrate James Rollins’s birth. It may also acknowledge and honor the children Eliza had hoped to have.
Bingham paintings seldom come on the market, and when this exceptional picture became available, the State Historical Society was eager to bring it back to Missouri. Paintings by George Caleb Bingham form the foundation of the art collection at The State Historical Society of Missouri. With the acquisition in 2006 of The Thread of Life, the Society was able to enrich its collection of Bingham genre paintings and portraits with a personal picture painted for the artist’s family.
Unless otherwise noted, text and images © 2008, State Historical Society of Missouri
