The picture was in Ben's house even when he was a child. When he is being told his mothers death was all his fault, by his dad (on his b-day)and he turns to run out you can see the picture on the wall behind him. This is in epi 3x20. So I would say that throws out it being Juliet or her sister. My best guess from this is that its DeGroot, or even someone we haven't met yet.

Yes. I'll have to go with Ben's mom now or Annie.

Maybe it's supposed to be Ben's mom...

After watching 'One of us' I think she looks like Rachel from the video clip link up, where she's playing in the park with her son. With her long hair, same smile, eyes and cheekbones.

After viewing "Left Behind" I think the lady in the picture looks a lot like Kate's mom, Diane. (Beth Broderick) Same lines in the face, same eyebrows and the hair is parted on the same side. The picture just shows her a lot younger. Maybe Ben is Kate's real father.

i think its Ben's mommy...maybe Karen DeGroot

Clickie

Somehow I messed up the link.

I am sorry.

Some people think it may be Margo, Jack's mom. They photo-shopped her face into the painting. It really does look like a younger version of her.
Clickie

I'd like it to be Rachel because it works out with my theory, but it really does look a lot like DeGroot.

I believe that she is holding an austrailian gerbil. Well, that's what Kentucky Fried Movie tells me anyhow. One of the earlier scenes, with the impotent gorilla, our zoologist brings in a fuzzy little critter that looks just like that. Plus.. it's from AUSTRALIA! Course, I don't even know if it exists... sorry for the lack of reasearch.

Kinda silly but I remember asking myself this same question when Eko was speaking with his brother just before he was killed...
What kind of flower is that in that pot? The brothers were standing in a field of them if I remember correctly. It was striking to see so many red flowers like that...almost looked like a cemetery. :-\

maybe its isabel...? uuu

This might be a stretch, but remember when Ben first asked Kate to eat breakfast with him on the beach? Does anyone else see a similarity with that dress she wore in that scene and this painting? ???

On the surface it does look most like Ms. DeGroot. There isn't a great image of this painting to look at but what if...the hair was black. It would look a lot like Sun. Just a crazy thought.

I'm swinging heavily towards it being Rachel. In the last episode, Ben talks about controlling Jack the way he controls everybody.....by finding out what he cares about and exploiting it. I think he controlled Juliet through Rachel. Rachel was brought to the Island and Ben hooked up with her and did something to her that made Juliet hate him. I don't think Ben and Juliet were ever an item. Rachel is holding the rat/hamster in the picture because they both had miracle pregnancies.

Seems to me that you could also through Desmond's Penelope in the running for who this could be. Strangely all of these women seem to have similar features.

I would say it's not Juliett. Juliett's Nose Bridge between her eyes is wider than the woman in the painting.

I would say it's hard to definitively say who it's a painting of, the painter could have screwed up on a few features. This isn't like a photograph, a painting is the artist's perception.

I would also say if it was a painting of Juliett, wouldn't she be weirded out that Ben has a painting of her in his place? And if Ben tried to convince Alex that Juliett was her mother, wouldn't Alex freak out that Juliett was taking off in the Sub?

Personally, the way she sits...reminds me of a queen on her throne. The matriarch of dharma, ever so proud of her impregnated rat.

hmmm...interesting spoonmerlin..lets take it a bit further, Apollo - Paulo (for short)... there might be a connection there, we might find our tonight :)

Hello to everybody! This is my first post! ;)
Do you think the lady in the portrait in Ben's house could be a Korean lady? I think she's like Sun, a blond version of Sun...
But may be I'm crazy... ::)

Linus per wikipedia.org

Son of Apollo and Psamathe, whose father was the King of Argos. She feared her father and gave the infant Linus to shepherds to raise. He was torn apart by dogs after reaching adulthood and Psamathe was killed by her father, for which Apollo sent a child-killing plague to Argos.

Lost theory per this.
The Degroots (Apollo and Psamathe) have a son (Ben) fearing the hanso foundation gave ben to the Savages (others). Karen Degroot gets killed by the others so something was released that either killed the others children or made them infertile.

it is definately no Juliette. And does look alot like Karen DeGoot. But I think the painting looks remarkably like Libby! Probably not her, but I can't believe no one else sees that.

Emily Annabeth Locke, Ben and John's mom. Believe it or not! http://www.lostpedia.com/images/a/a7/Emily.jpg

Wow, I really think it looks more like the actress that played Juliette's sister than the other two. NICE CATCH!

Here's another thought. Do we know where Juliette lives? Maybe she lives or (until recently at least) lived with Ben, and that picture was one that she wanted up. We don't know what the deal between the two of them is, but they seem to have some sort of possible romantic history.

could we toss in a 3rd option?? sounds funny but it looks more like Rachel (Juilet's sister) to me then Juliet or Karen. but add the rodent and it could be of the 2 things Juliet was able to impregnat... here's a link to the picture of the actress that played Rachel.
http://www.starpulse.com/pictures/2006/12/05/previews/Robin%20Weigert-DGG-013251.jpg

Maybe the degroots are the two skeletons from season 1.

What happened to the DeGroots? Did they leave the Island or did they die there? Anybody know?

I think it's DeGroot. I don't necessarily think that means that's Ben's mother. The timeline seems to be off. They could be related, though. I still think that it's just a leftover picture from when the DeGroot's inhabited that house.

There is no way that picture is Juliet. Different cheekbones, nose, lips...different everything. The only common denominator there is that both women have long hair. =(

Karen DeGroot? Yes, it sure looks like it from the pics I've seen. Especially the lip area.

Or...it's Kate Winslet, since that's who it looks like the most to me. Maybe Titanic is Ben's favorite movie. =)

Definitely a different dress, can't really tell about the chair. The dress they gave Kate had shoulder straps. However, I think that's a good thought and I wouldn't completely discount the idea that Ben was trying to re-create some kind of feeling or image from his past when he had breakfast with Kate.

Any relation to the lady that threw the bomb on the Losties raft back in the Season 1 finale?

is she wearing the same dress that they gave kate to wear...?

What would give us the most clarity in the matter is possibly less to do with the face of the person, and more of the details surround them. Why would either Juliette or Karen hold a hamster? Is there any significance to the flowers next to her? Is the chair she is sitting in the one Ben sat at while breakfasting with Kate? Does the plant life lead us to assume that this was painted on the island? We can interpret the faces as much as we like, but answering why it's there could lead us, more solidly, to who it is.

Hey, I like this pic set up. This looks a little more clear than the way it was before. Good Job!! I agree that the hair color for either of them doesn't match completely, but it could be just the lighting/shading.

I would also like to say that Lost is back and better than ever :)

Excellent catch Nancy Drew. I thing its De Groot too.

I officially opened up a poll on the matter.  I even played fair and included pics of Juliet and Karen with the portrait.  If anyone can help me post a clearer pic of the portrait, please do. 

I think it is DeGroot and that she is probably Ben's momma. If not, he's truly sold out to this stupid group.  ::)

maybe Karen DeGroot's maiden name is Linus?

There's not enough evidence yet for anyone to say definitively whom the woman in the painting is or isn't (her specific identity). But if you consider the context of the episode and the history of the show, I think there's evidence to strongly speculate that whoever she is, she is the woman Alex believes to be her mother. Since we know that Alex believes Ben is her father, that would make the woman in the painting Ben's wife or partner. The hamster may be a clue to the fact that the woman is/was infertile. Loving her like he did, Ben wanted to give her a child more than anything in the world -- and then a pregnant woman (Rousseau) just walked out of the jungle. (Hmmmmm, need a baby, pregnant woman walks out of the jungle; need a spinal surgeon, one falls out of the sky; need a sub blown up, angry sub hatin' dynamite totin' mercenary strolls into your bedroom. Coincidence? I think not. But I digress.) All of this would mean Ben is Alex's adoptive father, rather than biological father.

I think this is possibly Karen. I am 100% sure it is not Juliette. It doesn't look as much like her, and i don't think the history between Ben and Juliette is substantial enough to claim it is her.

Quote from: Nancy DrewThere is a reason behind my madness thinking the DeGroot's could be Ben's "parents".  First of all, there was the 70 yr. old uterus, but the woman was 23?? years old, so there is an aging problem going on.  Then there is the fact that Ben could have been some kind of genetic engineering project resulting in him being created, like with Juliet's new drug that could make a male rat pregnant.  I am only stating it as a possibility.  Plus, Ben looks like a momma's boy, lol.Still, Karen DeGroot looks too young in the Orientation video to be much older than 25 in the late 70's. I'm not buying any the accelerated aging talk either.Therefore I would say the Karen DeGroot and Ben Linus are close in age.

If that's not Karen DeGroot, then she's a dead ringer for her. Same pursed lip smile, same high cheekbones...

Doesn't look at all like Juliet to me.

There is a reason behind my madness thinking the DeGroot's could be Ben's "parents". First of all, there was the 70 yr. old uterus, but the woman was 23?? years old, so there is an aging problem going on. Then there is the fact that Ben could have been some kind of genetic engineering project resulting in him being created, like with Juliet's new drug that could make a male rat pregnant. I am only stating it as a possibility. Plus, Ben looks like a momma's boy, lol.

by the way, here is a link to a better screen cap of the picture in question.

Clickie

she is holding a rodent, it looks like a hamster, so i think its juliet, but since they are staying on the dharma grounds, its extemely possible that its an old picture of de groot that was there before they "ben and co" took over

I would take that it's Karen DeGroot. It does look a lot like her. I also agree that she is probably too young to be Ben's mother. I wonder, then, if they are related at all. Maybe Ben just took over the DeGroot's house after Dharma got driven out. I doubt any of those people are the original inhabitants of the houses they are presently in.

Quote from: Point Place WINo way do I believe it's either Julliete or Karen.  "It totally came with the frame."  I don't think its anyone but DeGroot. The portrait is too prominent in the shot to be "from the frame".As to the connection, Karen DeGroot could be a wife, mother, or a sister. Ben was born on the island probably in the late 1950's. Karen DeGroot appeared to be a young instructor on the UMichigan campus in the late 70's. This would make Karen DeGroot roughly the same age as Ben.Mother is probably out. Wife or sister - perhaps. Of course, sister implies that Karen DeGroot has long ties to the island herself - perhaps back to the Black Rock.

It is Karen DeGroot. The prominent soft tissue about prominent cheekbones, high forehead, height, eyecolor, rounded chin, pronounced brow ridge, and the dyscrepancy in length of the hair (what female does that?), and history direct one to this conclusion.

No way do I believe it's either Julliete or Karen.

"It totally came with the frame."

Quote from: kennyWhere have we seen Karen before?Orientation videos.

Where have we seen Karen before?

I think that if it were Juliet or Karen DeGroot, the hair in the painting would be lighter. But, I'm no artist.

Quote from: Max'sDadMaybe its Jewel, and Bens a fan! ::)Snarf

Maybe its Jewel, and Bens a fan! ::)

I'll buy it. Although it could be Juliette  ???

Well I think Amy is awesome for finding such similarities even if it's not her.  ;)Anyhoo. I thought it was an older pic of Juliet at first. But I am leaning towards it being DeGroot now. But why have her pic on his wall?? Maybe his mom? And maybe the reason we think it looks like Juliet too is because.....(insert suspenseful music)...it's HER MOM AS WELL??? Never know, even if she only came to the island 3 yrs or so prior to our lostie's falling from the sky.

i'm undecided....good thought and connection though....

You need to compare the actual Karen pic to the one that Sledge has for the Other's Artwork. With this angle on the artwork and with the distance it is at, you can't see it. You need to look at the cheek bones and the eyes on the closer image.

I actually don't think it's either of them, but it's really hard to tell since it's a painted portrait.  I think it slightly looks like Kate Winslet.Besides, my theory is that it's "Alex's dead mom."  In other words, it's a painting of a woman who Ben tells Alex is her mom.

I lean towards Juliet on this one. But, it's definitely not conclusive.

I thought it was a portrait of Juliet. :-\

that is very interesting.  what's the timeline on the degroots' involvement?  do we know?  i may have to look into that when i have time.  could the degroots' be ben's parents?  too young i think.  hmmmm....  what does everyone else think?