Have you thought about what a stunning family portrait, placed in a prominent gathering place in your home, would do for family morale? We invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours each year planning and executing vacations, meals, activities, and relaxation time to ensure that our families stay close. We even design our homes with the family in mind, making places to connect and congregate! A drip-feed into the lives of the children and couples who walk past it every day, a family portrait is a constant reminder of commitment, love, and security. Every member of the family will certainly go through different ages and stages, not all of them pleasant, but through the years the “team” can know that it’s “us against the world,” and that nobody matters more. A reminder of a connection with those that matter the most. What a beautiful way to invest in a happy future!

In addition to being a stunning piece of art displayed on your wall, a family portrait can have a wide-reaching impact. Since the mid-1970s, prominent institutions like Tulane University have been conducting studies on the importance of family and self-portraits. Portraits can bolster self-esteem in children, helping them to see who they are and where they fit. Judy Weiser, a psychologist, art therapist, and author based in Vancouver says “They learn their genealogy and the uniqueness of their own family and its story. When a child sees a family portrait with them included in the photograph, they say to themselves: ‘These people have me as part of what they are, that’s why I belong here. This is where I come from.”