Marie Wabbes’ Teddy Bear Portraits
In the quiet aftermath of loss, when life turned uncertain and the path ahead was lit only by resilience, Marie Wabbes found a surprising kind of hope in the gaze of teddy bears.
It was 1974. The world was shifting in crisis, and Marie had just lost her husband. Left to raise four young children alone, she turned to what she knew best: creating. With only her pencils, pastels, and a heart full of stories, she began to sketch again not only books but the tender faces of children… and then, unexpectedly, their bears.
Children who were restless during long periods of sitting were calmed by holding a cherished toy. Often, it was a teddy, a beloved friend from their earliest days, sometimes passed down from a parent or grandparent, worn soft by decades of love. Marie noticed something remarkable: these bears carried their own stories. They had soaked up tears, kept secrets, heard laughter, and offered silent comfort in the darkest moments.
And so, alongside each child, Marie began to draw the bear.
For me, these old bears were full of love. With so many hugs and so much confidence, they became alive. After drawing the child, I couldn’t help but draw the bear too.
—Marie
What started as a gesture of kindness, gifting the bear’s portrait to the family, quickly became a passion. Marie found herself drawn into their world. The portraits were no longer side notes. They were centrepieces. Families framed the bear with as much care as the child. These teddies, once tucked away in closets, emerged into the light.
In 1984, the first exhibition was born. With the support of gallerist Pierre Van der Borght in Brussels, Marie created 30 portraits for a show near the Palais des Beaux-Arts. It was just before Christmas, and the bears, timid, grand, tattered, elegant, gazed out at the world from their frames, bringing with them the weight of memories, the beauty of childhood, and the echo of deep, enduring love.
Since then, the bears have multiplied. Marie now lives surrounded by over 150 of them rescued, remembered, and adored. Some are fragile antiques, others won at village fairs. What matters is not their origin but how much they were loved. And love, in Marie’s hands, is always worthy of a portrait.
A Museum of Memory
The collection of Teddy Portraits is more than drawings. It is an album of true stories. Stories of comfort, survival, and the invisible thread between children and their companions. With each portrait, Marie invites us to remember our own beloved toys — their smells, their softness, and their stitched-up scars.
Here, on this page, you will find a gallery of Marie’s bear portraits, faces marked by time, love, and loyalty. Each one is a reminder that childhood is not something we leave behind; it is a part of us that remains. It waits for us in the eyes of a teddy bear.
