In 1995, U.K.-based artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease [dementia]. This is a difficult diagnosis and disease for anyone, but before his
death in 2007, Utermohlen created a heart-wrenching final series of self-portraits
over a roughly 5-year period documenting the gradual decay of his mind due
to this crippling disease.
Utermohlen's widow, Patricia, wrote in a 2006 essay on her husband's work.
She explains perfectly exactly why these images are so powerful;
"In these pictures we see with heart-breaking intensity William's efforts
to explain his altered self, his fears and his sadness."
It's hard to say whether the changes in his portraits came about due the
loss of his artistic skills or due to changes in his psyche but, in either
case, they document the emotional turmoil of an artist watching his mind
slip away from him bit by bit.
Here's His Amazing Self-Portraits. Enjoy! :)
After his death in 2007, his widow recalled, "Even the time he was beginning
to be ill, he was always always drawing, every minute of the day. I say he
died in 2000, because he died when he couldn't draw any more. He actually
died in 2007, but it wasn't him by then."
Utermohlen's self-portraits provide a stark look at the devastating effects
of Alzheimer's. As the artist struggled to keep in touch with the world
around him, his works became flatter, more abstract, with a new loss of
details and spatial sense. By 2000, Utermohlen's memory and technical skills
had deteriorated to the point where his heartbreaking portrayal of himself
was simply a scribbled skull and the barest shadows of facial features.
In 2014 Music Legend Glen Campbell
Was Diagnosed With Alzheimer's Disease...
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