Mother of Lesbos

Abstract

Betty G. Miller, who signed many of her later paintings “Bettigee,” was a lesbian at a time when it was not just unaccepted, but illegal. Despite knowing since childhood that she was attracted to women, Miller did almost no artwork expressing her feelings or experience with being
gay. Instead, she is best known for expressing her deaf experience. The second half of the 20th Century was a period of transition in which society became more accepting of homosexuality, and Betty began to relax and feel more free. She had a "commitment ceremony" in February 1988 with Nancy Creighton when gay weddings were not yet legal. She died in December 2012, just a few months before same-sex marriage became legal in America.

Creator

She/Her/Hers

Title

Mother of Lesbos

Date

2001

Medium

Acrylic/Collage

Description

Painting of two women with semi-transparent nude in back, and collage of happy faces of women at bottom. Also, collage of woman’s eyes looking out from behind wooden barrier

Citation

Betty G. Miller and She/Her/Hers, “Mother of Lesbos,” RIT/NTID Dyer Arts Center , accessed March 28, 2024, https://dyerartscenter.omeka.net/items/show/19.