Artwork / Archives / Private Masks / Eli Stutsman (Lead Author of the Death with Dignity Act)
We die by law.
The Death with Dignity Act is the point on which the double series of Private Masks and Public Faces rests, so Eli’s participation in Private Masks was crucial. For his role in the creation of Oregon’s physician assisted suicide law, he has been interviewed a lot over the years, but, when we met, I was the only artist who had ever approached him about his work. It’s nice to be someone’s first experience being painted, especially when that person really wants you to be.