Harold and the Williamson Legacy: A Fictional Narrative on Salvador Dali’s "Portrait of Colonel Jack Warner," 1951.

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My name is Harold Morgan Williamson III, and it truly is a pleasure to meet you today. Please, do stay and let me tell you a little about myself. You have found me, with my dear Remsley here, reading over a speech that I have prepared for the big event. You see, yesterday I received an invitation to a formal dinner that will be held in my honor for the philanthropic work I have executed throughout the past twenty years. My, how fast these previous two decades have flown right past me! I feel as though I have not done enough to merit such recognition. And in the ballroom of my very mansion – how revered I feel! They will not even let me go to the trouble of leaving my own home to be venerated!

Oh now, I got way ahead of myself, do excuse me. I told you I would inform you of who I am, only to ramble on about being rewarded for all of my this and that! I would like to welcome you to the grand Mediterranean garden area of the Williamson Estate here in the lovely Southland of California. I am sure you will have the pleasure of happening upon my wife Lorretta and my children, Stanley and Alaina, if you wish to stay for the afternoon. I am the proud, inherent owner of Williamson Incorporated, our family-owned business that goes back for three generations, when my grandfather, Harold Morgan the first, started the whole endeavor. Oh, and what a story it was that lead to the incorporation of my great company so long ago! Before the Heaven-sent discovery that he made on his own small plot of property sixty years ago, in 1850, no one would have ever guessed that he would eventually establish one of the most successful businesses that his country has ever seen. During that time, as you probably are aware, gold had been discovered in the North, a few hundred miles from where we stand presently. Everyone in the whole blessed country was in an all-fired rush to get to California, the new “promised land,” as quickly as their horses and wagons could take them. Little did my humble grandfather know, at the time, that he would soon happen upon an unimaginable deposit of gold, three mere feet from his house! He did not even attempt to desperately gold-pan or frantically search for deposits, like the rest of those fools.

To make a long story short, as I could go on forever, my Grandfather Williamson founded Williamson Incorporated as a trading company in 1852, with the more than three million dollars worth of gold that he found. As he advanced in his years, he handed the company over to my father in 1880. From there, what started as a business endeavor became incredibly successful, and the profits where off the charts. It was at this point, in 1885, that my kind father decided to turn our booming company solely into a philanthropic organization, forever ending its title as a trading company. As we speak now, I have been the owner for ten years and could not be more pleased with how I have been able improve society and aid the needy! As I am sure that you have noticed, my inheritance of Williamson Incorporated has been exceedingly kind to me and my family, as you would not be standing here on this grand estate, graced with its grandeur, if it were not for my involvement in the company.

I suppose you are curious as to what I will use my riches for from this point forward; well, I can tell you right here and now. After my honorary gala this next Friday evening, I will journey off on a safari to the continent of Africa to put my wealth and services to use on an even grander scale. I wish to gain a new-found appreciation for the blessings that my family and I enjoy on a daily basis by visiting and helping the people who are in need of the basic necessities we take advantage of everyday. While on my trip, I yearn to fulfill a childhood dream of mine: to climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Oh, to feel the crisp, fresh air against my face and the mountainside beneath my feet as I climb toward the snowy summit!

In my long-term plan, I will pass on the business and inheritance to my beloved children, Stanley and Alaina, and as soon as Stanley turns twenty-five years of age, I will appoint him as the new owner of Williamson Incorporated. My only hope in following through with this plan is to give my children the opportunity to continue the legacy of our respected business and experience life as even I have not been able to. I want them to travel the globe, as I am doing, to gain a more dynamic view of the world and appreciate the wealth they inherited and will earn.

As for myself at the present moment, I truly wish that the ceremony on Friday is for the sole purpose of honoring my acts as a philanthropist. Sometimes, even among my own acquaintances and friends, I cannot help but wonder if some or a significant number of them see me for who I am, or just as an asset to their own betterment, wealth, and popularity. This thought has sometimes kept me awake for nights upon nights. I find it humorous how common folk view my life-style as the end-all, be-all, so to speak. If only they were able to grasp how one’s insecurity increases with the more riches that he acquires. That is an aspect of my wealth that I thoroughly despise. One can never fully know when someone might be using them for superficial, selfish betterment, or honestly appreciating them as a loyal friend. If I were to wish for one thing in this world, it would be a stronger sense of trust for those who genuinely hold my friendship dear in their hearts. Oh my, will you look at the time! Come with me, I shall show you my mansion.

Alice Neel's Life-Inspired Art

Alice Neel’s emotional, thoughtful paintings and portraiture helped her to become one of the most renowned artists of the twentieth century, with her work still receiving praise and admiration to this day. One common trait in most of Neel’s portraits is her style of painting her subject as he or she appeared. She never tried to “glamorize” or “touch up” any of her portraits to give her subjects a false appearance. Her life put her through hardship and sorrow but times of joy and happiness as well; her life experiences helped to rouse ideas for her portraiture. Her portraits genuinely embody the human condition.

After losing her first child, Santillana, to diphtheria in 1927, attempting suicide in the early 1930’s, and being estranged from her first husband in 1934, Neel was no stranger to hardship and sadness, even in the earlier years of her life. One of her love interests, Kenneth Doolittle, went into a violent rage and burned more than 300 of her paintings, which, in itself, was surely a remarkably traumatic experience for the artist. Some of Neel’s most notable paintings during this time were "Requiem" and "Isabetta." However, not everything in life was gloomy and tragic for Neel. During these tribulations, she had given birth to another daughter, Isabetta, and would later have two sons, Richard and Hartley.

The death of Neel’s father, George Washington Neel, directly inspired her sullen, almost eerie portrait, "Dead Father," in 1946. However, one can tell, especially in observing the portrait, that Neel had respect for her father. Less than a decade later, Neel’s mother, Alice Concross Hartley, passed on as well, inspiring what is perhaps one of Neel’s most dynamic, melancholy, and intriguing portraits she has ever produced: "Last Sickness." The expression on her mother’s face possesses almost a mysterious sort of aura, which leaves the viewer to contemplate what Neel was trying to express in the painting. The most obvious emotion in the painting is sadness, but the expression could also be translated as exhaustion, fear, or horror. This painting truly teaches one how to analyze the facial expression of a person.

Neel’s portraiture had more aspects of family throughout the 1960’s and early 1970’s as both of her sons got married and had children. Neel’s "Mother and Child," also known as "Nancy and Olivia," depicts Richard’s wife, Nancy, and his daughter, Olivia. Toward the end of the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s, Neel was gaining more fame and recognition, as she appeared on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and was given the National Women’s Caucus for Art Award by President Jimmy Carter. Neel’s death in 1984 by no means marked the end of appreciation for her art and talent. Exhibitions showcasing her work are still put on today, as her works and portraiture continue to mesmerize and fascinate many people.

Prompts:

1) What about Alice Neel and her life and art intrigues you the most?
2) Look at Neel’s portraits My Mother and Last Sickness. I mostly picked up on the elements of sadness and old age in these portraits, but what other emotions could be drawn out from the two portraits? What might stand out to you?
3) Do you believe, in the long run, that Neel let the turbulence in her life positively or negatively affect her attitude and her Art?
4) If Alice Neel was still alive today, what questions would you most likely want to ask her? Explain.

Please Note:

Most of Neel’s most notable paintings can be found at: http://www.aliceneel.com/gallery/
Last Sickness can be found at: http://www.tfaoi.com/am/14am/14am323.jpg