Portrait and figure show, Philadelphia area

[Alexandra Tyng]

Not to brag or anything, but I wanted to let you all know that we received excellent local publicity for this show! It was reviewed in three papers, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Main Line Times, and Art Matters. We were also mentioned as a "best bet" in the Inquirer's list of suggested cultural activities on the Main Line (the area where the show was).

I think this says something very positive about the growing enthusiasm for portraiture, which is especially encouraging in the Philadelphia area. Philadelphia has a rich history of famous portrait painters--Cecilia Beaux, Mary Cassat, Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Eakins--even Sargent's parents were Philadelphians. But in recent history Philadelphians have not showed the same interest in commissioning portraits as people in the South and other parts of the U.S. We are hoping for a regeneration of interest!

Below I'm attaching an image of one review. I know it's too small to read, but maybe you can see some of the pictures. All are from our show.

[Linda Brandon]

This is wonderful publicity, congratulations to all of you!

[Chris Saper]

Yes, yes.

[Terri Ficenec]

That's wonderful Alex! I see one of yours in the pictures there

[Lisa Ober]

Fantastic, Alex! I can almost read the article too. I bet if I was 20 again I could. Congratulations.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Lisa! Actually it is blurry, it's not just your eyes, if that's any comfort.

Thanks, everyone, for even bothering to look after the fact. We are going to do this again--there are many more artists in our area that we can add in future years--but I'm hoping someone with better organizational skills might attempt something regional, or even national. Also, I am hoping that this might encourage people in different areas of the country to try similar shows. It wasn't that hard to do with just four people, and it generated a lot of interest.

Alex