Even the most insidious disease can breed a kind of beauty. Over the course of five years, artist William Utermohlen chronicled his decline via the only medium he knew how.
"Blue Skies" - 1995
The first self-portrait Utermohlen drew after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Image by Courtesy of Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos, Paris
"Red" - 1996
Utermohlen seems to mourn his sense of self, a shadow of his former life.
Image by Courtesy of Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos, Paris
"Yellow and Green" - 1998
Two years later, Utermohlen draws his world as shrinking. He peers out as if trapped behind prison bars.
Image by Courtesy of Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos, Paris
"Erased Self-Portrait" - 1999
With limited motor control it becomes difficult for Utermohlen to paint.
Image by Courtesy of Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos, Paris
