ArtPourri

Medal of Arts Recipients Announced – President and Mrs. Bush have awarded the National Medal of Arts to nine recipients, including Jesus Moroles, a sculptor from Rockport, TX.  In a surprise announcement at the ceremony, five awards of Presidential Citizens Medals were given, including to NEA Chairman Dan Gioia.

Senior Artists Featured – The AARP Foundation invited AARP members to submit their masterpieces as part of the 2009 Calendar Contest. Fourteen paintings were chosen to adorn the annual calendar and were recently exhibited at this year’s art gallery and silent auction at the National Event & Expo in Washington, D.C.  The theme for the 2009 calendar is “America:  Then and Now.”  http://aarp1.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/2009_ExpoCalendar.

USA Fellows Named – United States Artists has announced 50 new USA Fellows for 2008.  The youngest is 31 and the oldest is 82 years old, and they come from every corner of the country and work in virtually every artistic discipline.  Each will receive an unrestricted $50,000 grant in recognition of his or her creative work.  Visit www.unitedstatesartists.org to meet the new Fellows.

Holiday Postage Stamps Issued – Featured on the 2008 Christmas stamp is the Virgin and Child with the Young John the Baptist painting by Italian master Sandro Botticelli.  The painting, tempera and oil on wood, dates to around 1490 and is now part of the world-renowned collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.  The 2008 Holiday Stamps are Holiday Nutcrackers, which feature four eye-catching nutcracker designs by Glenn A. Crider of T.R.C. Designs, Inc., of Mechanicsville, VA.  He based the characters on sketches and notes provided by Sally Andersen-Bruce of New Milford, CT. Also available for the holidays are Eid, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah stamps.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 2 — December 2008