“THE WILD ONE” FINDS A HOME at FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD ART COLLECTION 

Master American Portrait Artist Fran Lew Honored

Costa Mesa, Ca: Master American portrait artist, Fran Lew, known worldwide for her sensitive portrayals of political leaders, heads of state, business tycoons, and everyday people, has been honored by the Federal Reserve Board Art Collection by including one of her “Stars of Hollywood Boulevard” portraits in their permanent collection.

“Johnny”, a portrait of Marlon Brando as the sensitive and brooding rebel, Johnny Strabler, in the iconic 1953 movie, “The Wild One” is the latest addition to the FRB Art Collection. Lew will join such artists as painters Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, and photographer, Arnold Newman. “Johnny” was completed by Lew in her signature media, charcoal and white pastel on toned paper.

“I am honored and thrilled to be in the impeccable company of the artistic heroes whose art I’ve admired. I am proud that my art is part of this important collection, and it will be viewed by the American public,” said Lew.

The Federal Reserve Board’s Fine Arts Program was established in 1975 by former Chairman Arthur F. Burns in response to a White House directive encouraging federal partnership with the arts. In a 1971 letter from the White House, Richard Nixon wrote, “It is my urgent desire that the growing partnership between Government and the arts continue to be developed to the benefit of both and more particularly to the benefit of the people of America.” Chairman Burns saw this as an opportunity to both enhance the working environment at the Board and to provide its visitors with a memorable visual experience. He created the Fine Arts Program to collect and care for artwork and to organize exhibitions for display in the historic Marriner S. Eccles building. The collection is comprised of paintings, drawings, sculpture, and photography.

Represented by the Chuck Jones Gallery, Fran Lew is an American portrait artist whose work spans three decades of American life. Originally represented by Grand Central Gallery, founded by the renowned Robert Henri and John Singer Sargent, Lew now resides in Florida, where she is currently working on her series of celebrity portraits, “The Stars of Hollywood Boulevard”. Her work is in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Cornell Museum, Sherwin Miller Museum, the State of Israel Art Collection, and the Brooklyn Historical Society.