787 Lancaster

When I was in upstate New York for my aunt's funeral a few weeks ago, I stayed in her apartment. It's the apartment that she and my grandmother moved to when they sold the family house in Albany. This drawing of that house hung in my grandmother's room, where I stayed. My grandmother passed away in 2011 and my aunt, her daughter, continued to live in the apartment.

My aunt lived with her parents all her life, and in this house (middle) from the early 1950s until 2008.

During my stay, my aunt's brother and his wife were beginning the work of cleaning up the apartment and removing my aunt's belongings. They asked me if there was anything I might want to remember her by. There really wasn't anything I could think of, except for this. The drawing of our grandmother's house was done by their son, my cousin, back in 2003. I asked if I could take it as a memory of my aunt and grandparents, and of the time in my childhood spent at that house. She agreed, and seemed happy that I wanted it.

Now the drawing hangs in my house. It's the second of my cousin's work that I have here (here's a link to the first); he's a very talented professional artist. Since that house sold in 2008 (I think), it has been repainted. The house was clad in a light grey aluminum siding since my earliest memory. The new color scheme is bolder, but I like it.