Lizzie Borden

Lizzie stares out with manic delight, her dress a mix of stormy blues. She grips a raised axe with gleeful menace, her expression wild — a fusion of exhilaration and madness. Shadows swirl behind her, but it’s her twisted grin and piercing eyes that command the scene. This is not a caricature, but a nightmare frozen in lace and malice.

Lizzie Borden was accused — and famously acquitted — of the brutal 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. The violence of the act stunned the public, and the sensational trial turned her into a household name. Though she walked free, suspicion never left her side. Her story still haunts American folklore, whispered in rhyme:

“Lizzie Borden took an axe..."

This artwork doesn’t answer the question of her guilt — it simply refuses to look away.