Regardless of how we come into a family—by birth or by bond—we all have a maternal figure in our lives to whom we turn when life feels heavy. This Mother’s Day, what will you gift the special woman in your life who has sacrificed so much for you, offering compassion and companionship every step of the way?
Worry not, our team has curated 11 artworks from the Bond & Grace fine art collection—each inspired by classic literature—that center the mother-daughter bond. Tender, striking, and meaningful to all, these original works are sure to make a lasting gift this Mother’s Day.
A limited-edition print, It’s Mother. (Unconditional Love) was created by our very own Creative Director & Curator Maggie Lemak for The Secret Garden Art Novel collection. Using digital media, Maggie reimagines the Virgin Mary as a universal figure possessing three different skin tones to reflect the many forms motherhood can take. “Motherhood is a collective experience,” Maggie says—one that extends beyond biology to include chosen bonds with wise women outside of our familial sphere. “‘With… her nice fresh face smiling across the greenery,” writes Frances Hodgson Burnett, “she was rather like a softly colored illustration…‘It’s mother—that’s who it is!’”
This portrait of childhood beauty and innocence suggests that Alice from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can be anyone; we are all born as loving, curious, exploratory beings. A handcut paper collage by Marianetta Porter, Alice is a personal favorite of mine. The blocks of two dimensional color leap off the page to create an evocative world of their own. With her shiny ballet flats and ruffled socks, I imagine an ear-to-ear smile as Alice peers up at her mother, eagerly greeting the day. It is our moms who give us the confidence to face the world like Marianetta’s little girl—dressing us in our finest and firming our minds for a life ahead.
The perfect gift for the flower-loving mother, The Rose and The Rose II are original watercolor paintings by Abigail Matheson that capture sumptuous, velvety roses in full bloom. Full of sweetness and vitality, what better way to think of the loved ones in your life than as a flower? Each watercolor was inspired by Mary Lennox’s transformation in The Secret Garden and comes housed in an ornate frame with rose detailing modeled after vintage botanical illustrations. A timeless portrait of blooming love, The Rose also comes as a print—offering the same beauty at a more accessible price.
As the Lion and the Unicorn from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass squabble over who gets the bigger slice of plum-cake, Alice finds herself mediating between the two as if she were their mother, determined to make them both feel equally loved. Indeed, mothers make constant daily sacrifices for their children, be it through a homecooked meal, a comforting conversation, or the simple act of showing up. Created on hand-dyed paper, Daniel Benayun’s Alice’s Fair Share in Wonderland captures the selflessness of motherhood—a reminder your mom will no doubt appreciate.
Like déjà vu, we’re often reminded of the books our mothers read out loud to us when we were toddlers at the most unexpected moments—an illustration, an allegory, a song long tucked away. In those early years, a stack of books on a nursery chair meant everything: a mother’s love and that wide, wide world calling just beyond the bedroom door. Inspired by Alice’s imagination, Abby Olsen’s Reading Nook features a striped armchair painted in delicate gouache. Soft, soothing, and baby blue, she captures the joys of storytime—sure to touch the hearts of moms both new and seasoned.
Visually striking, this image created with digital media by Hana Katoba captures the sensuality and complexity of the female experience—the bodily bond daughters feel with their mothers as they bloom from girls into women. Exposed to so much of the world too soon, we look to our mothers for safety and strength. Like flamingos, symbols of balance and beauty, they steady us through the tender, transformative journey of growing up. Modern, moody, and full of feminine allure, Flamingorphosis is a modern take on Alice in Wonderland that speaks to the stylish, introspective, contemporary mother.
Meticulously painted, Shachi Kale’s Mary’s Inner World—like all of the commissioned works created for our Art Novels—was months in the making, shaped by many a deep conversation with Bond & Grace curators about Mary Lennox’s evolution from a closed-off child to a curious young girl nurtured by nature, friendship, and the healing secret garden. Wearing a coat full of trinkets, Mary carries with her—physically and emotionally—the people, creatures, and stories that have shaped her. In minute detail, Shachi reminds us that our caretakers come in many forms, imprinting our hearts and guiding us through life’s weathering ways.
Another digital media work by our Creative Director & Curator Maggie Lemak and inspired by The Secret Garden, A Mother’s Touch (Empathy) captures the invisible, radiant aura of a mother’s love as it fills the digital canvas with devotion and empathy. The mother and child are gently blurred, their identities hidden to highlight a bond that feels both deeply personal and universally understood. Soft, evocative, and grounded by earthy colors, Maggie’s work makes a timeless gift for anyone who has felt the healing power of being held.
Rendered in the painterly brushwork of contemporary realism, Missie Sahib by Suchitra Bhosle features a pigtailed little girl smiling sheepishly over her breakfast bowl—cute, sassy, and unapologetically herself. Created for The Secret Garden Art Novel, Suchitra reexamines the colonial-era term “Misse Sahib,” an honorific title given to Mary during her time living in British-occupied India. Mischief, when playful, is a harmless part of girlhood, one some of us know all too well. What mom wouldn’t love a reminder of the cheeky spirit of the younger you?
A bold feminist reimagining of Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, Holly Lowen’s Fearless Wanderer channels unapologetic girl power. Nude, curvacious, and fully alive to the elements, this wanderer doesn’t observe the world from afar—she immerses herself in it. One with the water breaking around her feet, she is both exposed and empowered, vulnerable and unshakable. Created for our Frankenstein Art Novel, this Romanticism-inspired painting is perfect for the mom who loves fiercely, feels fully, and contemplates deeply.
Last but certainly not least, Alayna Coverly’s Connection is a skillfully painted tribute to the physical heirlooms that carry emotional resonance across generations. Not all of us are fortunate enough to have the caretakers who raised us still with us. In hyperrealistic precision, Alayna captures this bittersweet reality, featuring a heart-shaped locket resting on the royal folds of a purple cloth. The necklace’s power extends far beyond its vintage beauty, holding within it the legacy, lineage, and spiritual energy of the women who came before us. Live, love, and gift your mother Connection, in the spirit of the love that keeps you bonded, now and always.
