A man likes to leave his options open.

Excerpts from David Apatoff's post,
ARTISTS IN LOVE, part one,
from Illustration Art Blog (go see the pictures on his site):
Maxfield Parrish was 33, a successful illustrator living on a grand country estate, when he first met Sue Lewin. She was a 16 year old girl from a nearby farm town hired to help Parrish and his wife care for their two young children. Because Parrish's wife would no longer pose for him, he drafted their young nanny to pose in fairy tale costumes.

Lewin soon became his muse, modeling for his most famous illustrations. Eventually Parrish moved out of the mansion where his wife and children stayed and set up residence in his art studio so that he and Lewin could work closely together.

Lewin was Parrish's constant companion for 55 years.

When Parrish was 90 years old and Lewin was 71, Parrish's wife finally died, leaving him free to marry Lewin. However, he declined so she packed her bags, left the estate and went back to her village where she married someone else. ... He died alone a few years later.

Technorati Tags: Folly, Art, Maxfield Parrish, Love, Commitment