A portrait of the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, done by an African-American artist, will be unveiled Wednesday in Washington's Capitol Hill Club.

The unveiling of the painting by Rene Dickerson is expected to bring together Helms friends and admirers, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx, Patrick McHenry and Sue Myrick. Former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns will act as master of ceremonies. Dot Helms, the senator's widow, will be on hand.

The choice of artist could generate a buzz at the event, reports Rob Christensen.

Helms opposed every piece of civil rights legislation while serving in Congress and he was a major critic of the civil rights movement while he was a Raleigh television commentator.

Not only is Dickerson an African-American, but his work is not traditional portraituture. The California native cites as his inspiration such artists as Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Dickerson's work is featured in the private collections of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and former Motown president Berry Gordy.

The portrait is being sponsored by the Jesse Helms Center in Monroe and by Brian Summers, a former Helms staffer, who has ties to Motown and Gordy.

The portrait will remain in the Capitol Hill Club, which has served as a social club for Republicans since 1951. It is located next door to the Republican National Committee and two blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Tom Fetzer has racked up the endorsements.

The former Raleigh mayor has steadily unrolled a series of endorsements from conservative politicians and groups in his campaign for chairman of the N.C. Republican Party.

Always known as a solid campaigner, he's also dribbled them out in e-mails to supporters and on his Web site, a strategy to boost their visibility.

Here's a running list of his endorsements:

* Fred Smith, 2008 gubernatorial candidate and former state senator.

* Patrick Ballantine, 2004 gubernatorial nominee and former Republican Senate leader.

* Richard Vinroot, 2000 gubernatorial nominee and former Charlotte mayor.

* The state chapter of the Eagle Forum, a conservative activist group founded by Phyllis Schlafly.

Former Lee County Commissioner Chad Adams, Guilford County business owner Marcus Kindley and retired Navy veteran Bill Randle are also running.

The N.C. chapter of Eagle Forum has endorsed Fred Smith.

The pro-family organization founded by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly has endorsed Smith in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

"Senator Smith has the experience and the integrity to restore trust in the governor’s office," said Eagle Forum State President Andrew Dunn in a statement. "The good people of North Carolina have had it with corruption scandals, illegal immigration and partisan politics."

He also praised Smith's 100-county barbecue tour, saying he "could easily have chosen" to concentrate on metropolitan areas.

Smith has also been endorsed by the National Rifle Association.