DALLAS City of Winners

As Dallas’ indomitable volunteers pushed the United Way campaign over its goal for the twenty-seventh rear in a row another triumph of the human spirit was unfolding at the beautiful new Dallas Museum of Art



A man stood transfixed for fifteen minutes before a single painting. He could hardly believe he was actually in the presence of the original whose reproduction had filled his childhood dreams in the pages of a favorite boyhood novel. A lady in a motorized wheelchair zipped skillfully through the crowds, oblivious to everything but the images on the walls and the accompanying narrative over her tape player. A young father did his best to explain to his son that for the first time in his life he was in the presence of artistic greatness.



The Wyeths were in town! And the enthusiasm, the ceaseless crowds, (he excitement, the electricity which became (lie regular daily fare of the museums superb staff of docents and custodians proved beyond question mat realistic, understandable art still reigns supreme in the hearts of the majority of Americans.



Here at last were paintings they could appreciate without being told by experts that they ought to. Here were images of such obvious technical excellence that they didn’t need to be explained. Here were works of ail which displayed such depth of perception and observation that they seemed to get under the skin of the viewer. Each one became not merely a work of art but an emotional experience.



The Wyeths, N. C, Andrew and James, came to Dallas in triumph from Leningrad, Moscow and Washington on their way to Chicago, Tokyo, Milan, Cambridge and finally Chadds Ford. The months of October and November 1987, thanks to ATT, became the period in Dallas cultural history when she joined the ranks of the great international cities of the world.



And if paintings could feel, the creations of the Wyeth dynasty in oil, watercolor and egg tempera would indeed bask with pleasure in the warmth of their Dallas reception.