Mae West: Don Ruffin

Arizona artist Don Ruffin did a portrait of MAE WEST. Some of his artwork will be displayed on Saturday 2 May 2009.
• • Born in 1928 (according to AskArt.com), Don Ruffin became a nationally recognized painter during the 1970s. Among the portraits he did was that of Senator Barry Goldwater. The artist died at age 49 in 1977.
• • Don Ruffin was introduced to Mae West by a mutual acquaintance — —.psychic Richard Ireland. According to Mark Ireland, some of Don's canvases were "inspired by psychic experiences."

• • Anthony DeFrange also painted Mae West (1971) • •
• • The painter, who enjoyed giving psychic readings at parties, told his neighbor Tony DePrima that he would soon be a pallbearer for a close friend, remembered Mark Ireland. Curiously, a week later, Don Ruffin passed away and Tony DePrima carried his casket during the funeral.
• • The organizer of the Cinco de Mayo celebration coming up at West Valley Art Museum, Ms. Sheny Ruiz Milligan will bring along her private collection of paintings by the Phoenix artist. Sheny fondly recalled Don Ruffin's extraordinary portraits of actress Mae West, Barry Goldwater, and other notables. He also specialized in Southwestern scenes with a spiritual element.
• • Here's where the fun takes place this weekend: West Valley Art Museum, 17420 North Avenue of the Arts, Surprise, Arizona 85374.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/ ________ Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml Mae West
• • Photo:  Mae West, oil painting in 1971 • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest 

Mae West: Dates in Dayton

MAE WEST factors into an exhibit now on display in Ohio at the Dayton Art Institute.
• • The exhibition – – "Marilyn Monroe: Life As a Legend" – – was organized by Antoma in Hamburg, Germany, and is being circulated by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. Curator Laine Snyder has assembled 250 works relating to life of Marilyn Monroe and her continuing effect on artists.
• • An intriguing featured attraction is a Marilyn play. It is a one-woman show "Marilyn: Forever Blonde" starring Sunny Thompson.
• • Promotional copy for the show "Marilyn Monroe: Life As a Legend," now at the Dayton Art Institute through June 24, notes that this exhibit impresses the audience "with the scope of its insights into the iconic Hollywood star of the 1940s and 1950s."
• • In his recent article, "The Undying Marilyn Mystique," journalist Jerry Stein, The Cincinnati Post's arts writer, had something to say about Mae West's influence on Marilyn Monroe - - as expressed in a modern painting.
• • Jerry Stein writes: The pop artist Robert Indiana offers a sunburst of the head and nude torso of Marilyn Monroe at center. Surrounding this image, made in 2001, are the first names of great beauties - Betty (Grable), Rita (Hayworth), Jean (Harlow), Mae (West), etc. Each name is done in a single color. But below the sunburst, the name "Marilyn" is printed in larger type with each letter of her name done in a separate color used for the names of her beautiful predecessors.
• • Stein concludes: "It is as though Robert Indiana is saying with his rainbow coloring of the actress' name, Marilyn Monroe had it all. ..."
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: May Display

MAE is on display in May. From the iconic Uncle Sam “I Want You” military recruitment aid to the sultry photo of Mae West in a come-hither pose, poster art was a colorful communication tool and reflection of American life, notes journalist Johanna Crosby, leading off her column in Massachusetts's Cape Cod Times today.
• • Posters were “probably the most important visual advertising before the electronic age,” says Edmund Sullivan, curator of “Poster Arts’ Golden Age,” on display at the Centerville Historical Museum [on the Cape].
• • Culled from the private collection of Alfred Hoch of Acton, the colorful exhibit features 36 posters dating from the 1890s to the early 1950s - - the “golden age” of poster advertising.
• • During the turn of the century, social and artistic factors and advances in printing techniques led to an explosion of poster art that hasn’t been duplicated since, Sullivan says. High-speed presses and stable inks allowed manufacturers to run off hundreds of copies and distribute them.
• • This appealing form of public art captured the collective fancy of the nation, covering the era of silent movies and the art nouveau and art deco periods. The exhibit is a representative sampling of movie posters, WWII recruiting posters, and advertisements for war bonds, charities, circuses, and cruise ships. . . .
• • Come up north to see Mae's movie posters on display.
• • Beginning today, this exhibition continues through 8 September 2007.
• • “Poster Arts’ Golden Age” is on display at the Centerville Historical Museum, 513 Main St. [Centerville, Mass.] on the Cape. Information: 508-775-0331
• • Source: Cape Cod Times - - 4 May 2007
• • Byline: Johanna Crosby
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.