Former R.I. artist puts presidents'wives and hostesses in the foreground

by Ben Nuckols

Associated Press Baltimore

LIFEBEAT THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

Former R.I. artist puts presidents'wives and hostesses in the foreground by Ben Nuckols Associated Press Baltimore LIFEBEAT THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL Every First Lady and White House hostesses in American history was on display at the American Visionary Art Museum. They stare out from a wall in equal-sized, mixed-meia portraits, in nine columns of five each, it's nearly impossible for a viewer to look at them without learning something, or getting the urge to crack a history book. That's exactly the point of artist Morgan Monceaux's First Ladies series, which was being shown for the first time. "The work is not complicted," says Monceaux, formerly of Rhode Island . " It's fun, it's funny. If you spend enough time, the more you're going to see...I'm trying to stimulate your mind so that you'll want to know more.'' Monceaux, a self-taught artist and a history buff, began painting in 1990, when he was homeless and living in New York's South Bronx. His first big series covered every preident from George Washington to George H.W.Bush. spurred by a desire to investigate the African American ancestry of certain presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, Monceaux poured his autodidactic impulses into presidential history. "The work ended up being more about the history of the White House or the history of the Oval Office, and less about being black. I didn't necessarily address it. At some point, it really didn't matter." says Monceaux, a Louisiana native who has African, French, Creole and Native American ancestry. After concluding the presidential series, Monceaux found it essential to devote the same attention to their wives. " How could I do portaits of the presidents and not include their significant others? George (Washington) cannot exist without Martha," he says. None of Monceaux's subjects sat for him, freeing his imagination. His pictures avoid the coldness and formality of official portraiture, bringing the viewer closer to the subject. Monceaux captures in moments of reflection. Some look wary, some dour, some cheerful. "It's better to catch us when we're off-guard," Monceaux says. "We can see who the real person is- the man or woman behind the guarded pose of the official guarded portraits. There's something wonderful, something unique that exists, and I want that (humanity) to be evident." Monceaux is evenhanded, devoting as much care to depicting the obscure First Ladies as he does to the famous ones. And the ones viewers don't know anything about are likely to grab there attention- like Harriet Lane. Never heard of her? She was the striking blond niece of bachelor president James Buchanan, who served as his White House hostess. The paintings are not just oil on canvas: Monceaux includes elements of collage, such as clothing or jewelry, and scrawls barely legible text around the head of each First Lady, providing detail about their lives and accomplishments. He applies the same techniques to larger portraits of various monarchs throught history, also on display at the museum's new " mega-exhibition," titled Race, Class,Gender(donot equal) Character," Thursday December 7, 2006