Next week, in Mordovia, western Russia, in penal colony IK-17, American prisoner Paul Whelan will celebrate his 54th birthday. It will be the sixth birthday Mr. Whelan has spent behind bars since his arrest on espionage charges on a visit to Russia in 2018.

Russia and the U.S. exchanged Brittney Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout Thursday. But conspicuously absent from the deal was Paul Whelan, the brother of an Island artist, who remains in Russia on espionage charges.

Elizabeth Whelan, working from her home studio on Chappaquiddick, feels portraiture is like a message to future generations about who we were.