DescriptionThis photograph features a woman dressed in a Bir Saba ensemble, from Southern Palestine, likely taken in the 1980s. About the photographer: Lillian “Lily” I. Bandak was born on July 31, 1948 in Amman, Jordan into a Palestinian family from Bethlehem. In the 1960’s, Lily immigrated to the US with her family where they settled in Newark, Delaware. Lily was a gifted artist and world-class photographer with incredible tenacity to pursue her passion despite the adversity she faced. Lily focused her camera’s lens on beautiful cultural and historically relevant subjects. She captured prominent Arab leaders and historical and cultural sites that no longer exist today. In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter added a photograph by Lily to the permanent exhibition at the White House, becoming the first and only Palestinian artist to be featured in the collection. In 1983, at the height of her career, Lily was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. In 2015, Lily reflected on the onset of the diagnosis through a press interview with "Ability Magazine" (2015). Preceding her diagnosis, she received an assignment from Newsweek to photograph the horrors of the Sabra & Shatila Massacre (1982). Lily shares, "And I covered it. That’s when I got sick. That’s when [Multiple Sclerosis] started. My nerves just couldn’t take it. I’m not that kind of photographer. I do art photography." Lily eventually required the use of a wheelchair, and although her hands no longer could control a camera the same way, Lily refused to abandon her passion for photography. She continued pursuing her life’s work through the use of a wheelchair with assistive technology—this time with a new perspective. In 2012, a fire destroyed Lily's home and studio in San Diego, resulting in the loss of a substantial portion of her photographic archive. The blaze consumed thousands of photographs, negatives, prints, and related materials accumulated over decades of professional and personal work. “I feel homeless. My pictures, my negatives are all gone. I really don't have a place to stay,” she said. Lily lived in the home with her sister Diana and her mother who lives with Alzheimer's. This signed artwork in the museum's collection may be one of the last original prints of her work. Lily passed away, leaving a legacy of resilience, artistry and kindness on September 11, 2021.