SOUTH BRUNSWICK — There has been a marked difference in the subject matter and theme of Joan Murray’s art in the last decade.
The change in her artwork came at the same time as the onset of dementia symptoms almost 10 years ago. Her husband of 55 years, Dr. Paul Murray, was the first to notice the shift.
“She has been a painter for many years, and the character and quantity has certainly changed in her dementia,” he said.
Paul Murray met his wife at a square dance while he was finishing his doctorate in physics. They moved from Hicksville, Long Island, to Kendall Park in 1959 when he was hired by RCA, where he worked on several imaging projects. Joan worked for several years as a dietician for various hospitals and school districts. The couple has two sons, George and Peter.
Significant segments of their past together are lost to Joan as both her short-term and long-term memory are deteriorating. As Paul describes it, her artwork has transformed from pleasing renditions of plants and animals to expressions of her inner frustration as her dementia has progressed.
“Of late she has repetitively drawn pictures of a bare tree trunk — no branches, no leaves,” he said. “My personal interpretation may be that she feels she is standing alone, cut off from all the things in life that she now is unable to remember.”
Paul Murray said his wife’s struggle is epitomized in two postcard sketches, one stating “I Love You” and the other “I’m Frustrated.” He set up an exhibit for her art at the South Brunswick Senior Center, where the two have made friends and where Joan took oil painting lessons.
Paul hoped to shed some light on his wife’s condition.
Her exhibit, titled “I Love You, I’m Frustrated,” was on display for the past two weeks. The art ranged from paintings from the 1970s, such as “Grovers Mills Pond,” to a recent drawing, “Three Tree Trunks in the Sun.”
Paul is his wife’s main support system. He helps her put her socks and shoes on in the morning, accompanies her to classes at the senior center, and has handled the cooking for close to a year. He keeps the phone off the hook for most of the day, since she has inappropriately dialed 911 in the past. Despite the dementia, this support is not lost on his wife.
Fairly recently, Joan drew her first sketch of a person. It was Paul sitting at a computer desk.
“She knows she’s married,” he said. “She tells me how much she loves me, even more than normal.”
It has been painful to watch his wife struggle with dementia over the years, but Paul said she is strong in her battle against it.
“She has never sat back and accepted it,” he said. “She continues to make her best efforts to cope and function her best. With [her art], I realized she was calling out for help in a very special way.” Contact Deanna McLafferty at