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Helms portrait to be unveiled
Submitted by bkrueger on 2009-11-17 14:40A 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.
