Alecia Thomasson, The Coloring Book II, Oil Acrylic and Ink on Wood 10 x 10 inches.

Krystle Lemonias

Guru, woodblock relief print, 3/8, 12 x 16 inches.

Dre, woodblock relief print, 1/8, 12 x 16 inches.

Olivia Sage DiFilippoI Can't Eat This, Cyanotypes, 15 x11.5 inches.

James Robe, Oil on Canvas, 4 x 4 inches, 2019.

Salina Almanzar Iazos de sangre (bloodlines), Digital Photograph, Embroidery & Graphite on wood, 22x17 inches.

Another Artist I Forget, water color and pencil on board, 9 x 7.5 inches, 2019.

Aemi Kato - Cuarezma,Untitled Red, ball point pen, acrylic paint and gel pen 25.5 x 19.75 inches.

Self Portrait, ball point pen, acrylic and gold leaf, 25.5 x 19.75 inches. 

In early photographs, a subject had to sit still because of long camera exposure times. When that subject was a squirming baby or small child, they were sometimes held in a lap or reassured by an adult hand, either from a photographer's assistant, relative, nanny, or father, but primarily by the child's mother. Whether they're mothers or not, collectors call these photos "hidden mother photographs."

Since customers wanted photographs that showed only the children, photographers had to get creative to block out the other person.

A mother would drape herself in fabric or attempt to hide herself out of the camera's view. That way, after the photo was developed, it would be placed behind a mat or frame which would crop out the mother, thereby deceiving the viewer into thinking the child was posing alone.

Artist Unknown or I Forget, Acrylic on Board, 4 x 4 inches, 2019.

Kelli Mantell American Woman, Digital Monoprint on Paper, Thread, Wood, 20x19 inches.

Hidden Mothers - 1870, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.