eastwing - Dana Ellyn | Contemporary Narrative Painter

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the witness

Painting titled “State of the Union” by Dana Ellyn showing a young girl holding flowers before the demolished East Wing of the White House, with children swinging over the ruins.

The Witness

30" x 40"

oil on chipboard

$700

purchase/inquire

October 2025

Started on the day the news broke and the first photographs surfaced of the demolition of the White House East Wing, “The Witness” captures a moment when history seemed to fold in on itself. The 2025 tear down was carried out without the standard public review process to make way for a privately funded ballroom.

A young girl looks on, holding on tight to the beauty of her flowers as history crumbles. Children swing above the ruins, a nod to Ben Shahn’s social realism and to the uneasy balance between innocence and denial.