Lately I have returned to a subject that captivated me twenty years ago–the city of Detroit. The Ransom Gillis House has become an icon of the sad decline of this great city. Once one of the nation's most beautiful and wealthy restidential cities, Detroit today still struggles to rise above the de-industrialization and racial de-integration that has plagued it for the past 50 years. Ironically, Detroit is still a remarkably photogenic and picturesque city. The Ransom Gillis house is just one of hundreds similar.

Circa 1876

Circa 2002

Stage one. This canvas was designed from photos taken in the late 1980s. The house was a ruin, but still intact enough that restoration was not out of the question.

Stage two.

Stage three. Finished?

As of September 2009.