Astrid Preston, New Growth, 2001, oil on canvas, 84 x 72"
Sometimes artists are filled with inspiration and curiosity, their art bringing a fun and whimsical perspectives to the world. But art can also prompt reflection, an avenue to promote the importance of life, and often, the grief that comes with it. Astrid Preston’s painting New Growth embodies this duality, serving as a poignant meditation on loss and resilience, each tree representing a life lost in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Originally Preston’s painting was going to be a classic scene of nature, much like her other works. Preston had already sketched out a landscape and had begun painting the back row of trees. On the day she started New Growth, Preston was listening to the radio while she painted—an ordinary routine. But that day, the news was far from ordinary, the reporter was sharing tragic events that would change American lives forever.
As Preston listened to the events unfolding, she found herself painting the same line of trees over and over again, almost absentmindedly, her original plan forgotten in the wake of her shock.
As she continued painting, her intention shifted. The focus became clear: she decided to paint a tree for every life lost in the 9/11 attacks.
As Preston got to the bottom of the canvas, she worried that there would not be enough canvas to fit the correct number of trees to reach her goal. But, almost as if fate would have it, she was able to fit all 2,977 trees on the canvas—one for each life lost on September 11, 2001.
New Growth lives as a permanent memorial to the grief and pain of the many Americans who lost loved ones, but it is also a testament to the resiliency of the country and the ability for the world to come together to mourn this event. The attacks of 9/11 brought the world into a shared moment of silence and mourning but also sparked acts of kindness and unity, like the acts of those in Newfoundland who opened their homes to stranded passengers after planes were forced to land outside the United States. Through her painting practice, Preston not only honors the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks but also captures a collective journey toward healing and rebuilding. New Growth encourages us to find meaning in the aftermath of hardship, to embrace the possibility of renewal, and to recognize that even in deep sorrow, there is the potential for new life.
And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
-Maya Angelou’s “When Great Trees Fall”
Image Bibliography
Preston, Astrid. New Growth, 2001, oil on canvas, 84 x 72 inches. Plein Air Past and Present 2008, 20.
Preston, Astrid. New Growth, 2001, oil on canvas, 84 x 72 inches. www.astridpreston.com/2000-2004.html.
Astrid Preston, Deep Green, 2022, oil on canvas, 16 x 16"