I just came back from downstairs
looking for a book. On a table was picture in a frame. Here is the
story!
Maybe you know, maybe not, I went to high school in Lexington,
Virginia for the first two years, 1945 and 1946. I was much more
interested in socializing and playing sports than I was in study.
That is the main reason I came to Alderson, the thinking of my
parents was that I was gonna change, a few of you recall I did not
distinguish myself in Alderson High School.
In French class in LHS I sat behind a tall lanky boy, who was about
as uninspired scholar a student as myself. His name was Cy Twombly
and all he wanted to do was spend his time drawing the views out the
windows or sketching his fellow pupils and the teachers, preferably
in a embarrassing manner. I sat right behind him and once in class I
noted a drawing of the anatomy of a dissected human hand, in pencil
on lined notebook paper, he saw my looking, and with a dismissive
wave of his hand, gave it to me. I soon lost it!
The next time Cy Twombly came to my attention I was in an office and
reading material was scarce, I picked up and was looking at a copy
of Vanity Fair magazine. I came upon an article about Cy and his
success in the world of Modern Art. The article was about 5-6 pages
long, and had a photo of Cy in a long leather coat, (this was in the
mid-sixties) in Italy, standing with his wife beside a vintage
Alfa-Romeo touring car. I recall the caption said that he and his
wife, the Countess, were leaving their Palazzo (palace)?
I did not take the magazine, which is my normal behavior, and never
again saw or read anything about him until several years ago the
Lexington weekly paper I still subscribe to, said that he had bought
a home in Lexington and planned to live in it part of the year, and
the rest of the time in his home in Italy. It also mentioned that
several of his paintings and other works had sold for millions of
dollars and that he was considered among the greatest modern
artists.
I looked him up on the internet. Indeed Wikipedia and other sites
had a multitude of stuff about him, (I invite you all to look). It
was shortly after that he died just this past year.
I wanted a picture or sketch or something that he had done, and so I
went to E-Bay and found a small 12 x 16 inch water- color in what I
would definitely call the Modern Art genre. Actually, we have
several water-colors, for which our kids won ribbons for at the WV
State Fair. I had framed them and they look to me to be about the
same stuff. Not knowing a heck of a lot about art. I bought the
watercolor at the "buy it now price" which was dear. It took about a
month to arrive from Italy and it had been folded at some time in
the past and I have watched enough pawn shop shows on TV to know
that would certainly distract from it's value.
Since that times I've gotten it matted and framed and attached the
statement of value and a short story of knowing Cy and as much more
stuff as I think, (but doubt), might some day make it sell. The
problem is, Pearl says where do I think I am going to put it? Come
to my downstairs and I'll display it ! Wish I'd kept the sketch of
the hand!
