The Cover Painting for the Lincoln Anthology is by Phillis Rutiglaino, New York All Cities Branch NLAPW
Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln:
a commemorative collage
Three paintings by Virginia-based artist/author Mary
Montague Sikes are on display following the January 17 book
launch of Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln: a commemorative collage
at the Pen Arts building in Washington,
DC. The paintings Will There Be
Peace Anywhere?, Let the Light Shine Through, and On High Street are
reproduced in the anthology of creative works by members of the National League
of American Pen Women from across the nation. Proceeds from book
sales will be used to establish a Lincoln Legacy Scholarship for students who
produce literary works best exemplifying one or more of the contributions by Lincoln to the American
ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity.
Creation of the book was a multi-faceted project designed to
celebrate the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln and to disseminate a greater
understanding of his concepts of freedom, equality and reconciliation. The
NLAPW challenged its membership to produce artistic, dramatic, literary and
musical works that speak to Lincoln's
style of leadership, his contemplative character and his persuasive use of
language.
On February 12, Sikes, Sylvia Wright, and Martha Steger will present a copy of the book to the Virginia State Librarian in a ceremony at the Library of Virginia.. They also will present copies later in the month to First Lady of Virginia and to the Central Virginia Cultural Arts
Center. The authors will participate in a Lincoln Walk in early April.
Sikes is one of three members of the Richmond, Virginia
Branch, NLAPW to have work included in the book. Besides the three paintings,
her poem Mr. Lincoln, Did You Hear? is part of the anthology. Inspired by her
childhood years living and playing near Civil War battlefields in
Fredericksburg, the poem by Sikes evokes memories of old houses with cannonballs
embedded in the walls, gravesites in ancient cemeteries and bloodstained floors
in an old school building.
The January 17 program was among nationwide events
endorsed by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. The Pen Arts building
is located at 1300 Seventeenth St.
NW. and is part of the Dupont Circle Historic District. Constructed in 1887,
the PenArtsBuilding
was designed byrenowned architect
William M. Poindexter, for opera star Sara Adams Whittemore who was a
descendant of President John Adams. In 1910, the home was leased to Robert Todd
Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. The twenty-room mansion was
purchased in 1951 to become headquarters for NLAPW.
Let the Light Shine Through, an acrylic painting, 36 x 24 inches, on canvas,
is one of three paintings by Mary Montague Sikes included in the Lincoln
anthology.
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