Artist: Terry Redlin
Title: An American Portrait: A Collection of Heartfelt Firsts: "His Last Good-Bye"
Edition Size: Hand Signed and Numbered Limited Edition
Medium: Fine Art Lithograph on Paper
Image Dimensions: 18.5" x 32"
About the Art: His Last Good-Bye" from Terry Redlin's "An American Portrait" Series - "A Collection of Heartfelt Firsts" In this, the final painting in "An American Portrait", the neighborhood is aglow with lights as families prepare for the upcoming holiday season. The snow glistens in the moonlight and the stars twinkle in the clear night sky. Dad has just finished hanging the homecoming banner. He has been busy all day getting ready for his son's return. The cars are all washed and the garage straightened. Mom has the tree decorated and lit; and from the house wafts the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, his favorite. From the window, she sees a car slowly pull up to the front walk. As she opens the door, expecting to embrace her son, she is horrified to see a representative from the Navy and a Chaplain walking up the snowy steps. At this moment, our hearts sink as we realize it is not her son, but the devasting news that he has been killed in war. As her body begins to crumble, she finds herself unable to speak...unable to even breathe. A very old Buddy drops the teddy. He knows his friend is never coming home. "His Last Good-Bye" immerses us into the pain of this American family's ultimate loss.

This final painting was inspired by one of Terry Redlin's personal experiences. It captures on canvas the memory of his brother-in-law and good friend, Charles Langenfeld. Terry and Charles loved to hunt and fish. They also enjoyed Chess and other board games and would spend hours together. Even though Charles was ten years younger than Terry, the two men shared many interests and had great respect for one another. It was a true friendship and a brotherly bond.

Charles, a Navy Hospital Corpsman, was killed in the Siege of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War in 1968. He had only 8 hours to go before he would have been rotated to the rear and out of harms way. Like many Americans, Terry and his wife Helene, along with their entire family, live forever with the pain of the ultimate loss.