Wednesday, April 30, 2008
sponsored by Maple Ridge

Lincoln College Museum unveils donated painting by Sacha Newley on Saturday

Send a link to a friend

[April 30, 2008]  Examining the conscience of Abraham Lincoln is one description of a unique modern painting that will soon be on display at the Lincoln College Museum. The museum recently received a donated portrait of Abraham Lincoln by acclaimed New York artist Sacha Newley. The museum will unveil the painting to the public for the first time on Saturday at 7 p.m. The opening will also feature a special presentation by Mr. Newley. The public is invited to attend.

The painting, entitled "the Head of Lincoln," is a new, contemporary piece. Newley captures a young Lincoln, without a beard, with the words of the Gettysburg Address intermixed throughout. Newley says he decided to paint Lincoln as a call for our society to renew the wisdom of our greatest president. Newley, along with his wife, Angela, who is also an artist, will interpret the deeper thoughts and meanings behind the painting at the opening dedication.

Newley's portraits have included some of the most fascinating personalities of our time, including Christopher Reeve, Gore Vidal and Oliver Stone, who said of Newley, "I see Sacha as an Isaac Newton of British art."  [Pictured is artist Sacha Newley's painting of Christopher Reeve. Photo courtesy of Sacha Newley.]

Newley has been acclaimed by art critics for his concerted quality of "facial affect display" -- the incorporation in his painted subjects of special attention to the dramatic emotions of the human face, which gives the final product a deeply compelling character. Those qualities are very apparent in "the Head of Lincoln."

[to top of second column]

Besides portraits, Newley has created still life and landscape scenes, and has the dubious honor of being one of the last artists to paint the New York skyline with the World Trade Center intact. His works are featured in the Victoria and Albert Museum and in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian.

Newley is the son of the late Anthony Newley, a songwriter who won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1963, and actress Joan Collins.

The public is invited to attend this event, and refreshments will be served. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. The event has been endorsed by the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

[Text from file received from Lincoln College]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor