Thank you all for your responses and encouragement! I can't tell you how much i appreciate the enthusiasm, professionalism, and general support of the forum "community." It does feel good to be doing something for portraiture--"giving visiblity to our trade" as you said, Ilaria. And, Sharon, I am glad you feel it is a positive step for the world of art. That's nice to hear.
Yeah, drat, Linda, how come you have such rotten timing?
Where were you looking at portraits without artists' names? I have noticed that problem, but mostly in hospitals, offices, universities, etc. They hire the artist and then once the job is done they forget there ever was an artist. But Philadelphia is so reserved about everything, it wouldn't surprise me even in a museum.
Thomasin, it's a funny thing how it happened. John Ennis and I tried to organize something local under the umbrella of the PSA but we couldn't get it off the ground. I asked Garth and he thought it was a good idea. We talked to someone at a local museum and they said we would have to make a formal proposal complete with budget! Not what we had in mind at all! In the end it was really not my idea, but the dea of the director of the Wayne Art Center. Maybe I had brought up something to her at one time, I don't remember, but apparently she decided it would be good thing to do, and asked me to help with a few things. It's funny how these things work out.
Hope that answers your question, Pam. I really didn't do any major organization, but I did put together a list of the portrait artists I knew, and did some e-mailing and that sort of thing. The art center added some other names of people they knew including faculty members. So I think the key is finding a director of an organization who is in the position of hosting an exhibition, and who likes the idea. With good work you can't go wrong even if the venue is modest, like a local art center with a good reputation.
Enzie, I'm really excited about the work, too. These artists are great.
Allan, yes, that is my portrait of Julian on the bottom left. There will be a lot of different styles represented, and I agree that will make it much more interesting.