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Show Tuesday, September 24, 19 Hah THE DAILY HERALD, Prmo, Page El useum helps revive forgotten 19th century painte By CARL HARTMAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Thomas Wilmer Dewing died a forgotten old man in a Depression-er- a New were the paintings of long-gown- Figures on misty lawns he created a century ago as a member of the top ranks of American artists. Seeking to restore a modicum of that fame, the National Museum of American Art has mounted a major show of Dewing's works, including one painted inside the lid of a grand piano that graced the White House for decades. Hovering in the background of the exhibit is a darker side of America involving a Victorian sex club and a murder that was the sensation of 1906. Dewing died at age 87 in 1938. That was long after he painted what he considered his best work, too good for most viewers to appreciate: a series of hazy green landscapes, usually featuring female figures in long gowns. The one he did on the grand piano was presented to President Theodore Roosevelt in the century's first decade. It stayed in the White House for 35 years until President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent it to the Smithsonian Institution. The American art museum, a part of the Smithsonian, included g in the current the show, which moves to Detroit in November. Dewing worked on the piano with his wife, Maria Orchards Oakey, also known in her time as a painter of portraits and still lifes. Both came from Boston. They met in New York's artis once-celebrat- piano-paintin- tic society. Husband and wife collaborated on some paintings, but Oakey said she felt her own artistic talents better expressed in her husband's work. Still, she dramatically told a visiting Oscar Wilde in 1882: "I must paint pictures or die." Seeking to restore a modicum of that fame, the National Museum of Ameri- can Art has mounted a major show of young women he took elaborate pains to keep his wife from knowing much about. He rarely painted males. One model was Anne Lazarus, whose sister,- - Emma Lazarus, wrote the poem on immigrants inscribed at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. Mrs. Dewing learned about Anne, which made everyone uncomfortable at the summer artists' colony they all frequented at Cornish, N.H. At the National Museum of American Art show, some visitors may fancy the frames as much as the portraits. Their abstract designs were done by Stanford n White, one of the period's architects, decorators and playboys who designed Madison Square Garden. Dewing painted at least one nude for White's extensive collection. Though recognized by his and extracurricular designs escapades, White became even better known in 1906 by being killed over a showgirl in the Garden's roof cafe. The lurid testimony at the trial became the scandal of the year. It seems White had founded the "Sewer Club," a series of Man hattan apartments used by mem- bers for their clandestine affairs. Prominent members included Dewing, who shared the rent, and Augustus Saint Gaudens, often called America's greatest sculptor of the century. W4 . 3dt :. s-- r?':?:-- ' Z v4'-- r.-- rt i J ;: H . - e I ; ; , - n , K . ty.t. .inss i c F j:k l,x t; rv.ts : . 5 - s. : 3 U- ! . - fc . .1 . ' x yrr:-z--- ii i "..rX- r xr X : : - k- V itr -. . 5. -'-- best-know- Dewing's works, including one painted inside the lid of a grand piano that graced the White House for decades. once-celebrat- ed Dewing came from an old but poor family and first became known for a brilliant portrait of the poet Walt Whitman. Every ambitious artist of the time, Dewing included, felt he had to go to Paris. But after a year in France, Dewing's money ran out. He came back to show small nudes at Boston exhibitions and finally broke into the New York art world with a figure, "A Musician." Today's viewers may get more feeling from the enigmatic fully draped portraits Dewing did after moving to New York. Models were often society ladies, some anonymous, but others were i S?- - v- - - aw 'JSr ":V5'i raj ii; -- t .,'.11 X. trrirsx j: . i?n i-- "The Art of Thomas Wilmer Dewing Beauty ReconfigOct. 14 at the National Gallery of American Art. It then opens at the Detroit Institute of Art on Nov. 9 for showing through Jan. 19. ..WgZriQt?bT ured" closes AP Photo Thomas Wilmer Dewing's "The Necklace" is part of an exhibit that runs at Washington's National Gallery of American Art until Oct. 14 and opens at the Detroit Institute of Art on Nov. 9. Dewing died Mandatory identification working in Minnesota a forgotten old man in a Depression-er- a New York tenement. Forgotten, too, were his paintings of figures on misty lawns created more than a century ago. long-gown- . 'i t - M. ft', i By DOROTHY KORBER Newspapers er Since 1985, Minnesota ' has required doctors and clinics to report the names of patients infect-- i ed with HIV. It was the first state I in th nntinn tn mak HIV likp " syphilis "or tuberculosis, a disease. reportable The system works, says Dr. Richard Danila, supervisor of the state's HIV and emerging infec tions unit. The names provide very useful data, Danila says. They allow us to see trends early. We can offer immediate counseling and other services. And we ask them to give us referrals of others they might i have infected. Meeting with us is voluntary, sharing names of partners is voluntary. Even so, we've been very successful. About agree to meet, and the majority name their partners. The health department handles notification of sexual or needle-sharin- g partners discreetly. We never even say we're calling from the health department until we know we're talking to the right person, he explains. We offer to meet at whatever location the person prefers. We say, 'We have reason to believe you may have been exposed to HIV or gonorrhea, or whatever. If they ask who gave us their name, we say we can't reveal that information. We have 5,000 cases of AIDS and HIV in Minnesota, anil there haven't been any breaches of confidentiality. Danila says his department has no evidence that people refused to be tested because they feared having their names on a government list. But he concedes that some give phony names. And he acknowledges that his state, with a fairly low incidence of HIV and AIDS, is far different from California. In the past 15 years, Long Beach alone has had more cases of AIDS 2,958 than the whole state of Minnesota. Still, he believes that mandatory reporting would work here. In terms of overall benefit, HIV reporting is essential, Danila says. It s hard for us to imagine a ditter-eworld. ; ! . r i- . ! -; ' V- , . 7 . , i two-thir- U mm , if" - '; t- - V " s - ' ' 1 When it's important to find that check, you don't need the inconvenience of searching 10 shoe boxes. 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