Fleisher Art Memorial

     I miss Fleisher. Located in South Philadelphia, it is a free (almost free) art center endowed by a Philadelphia merchant. The funds are administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and it offers day and night classes to all ages. I was privileged to pose there for drawing, including anatomy drawing, painting and sculpture. 


     Sculpture was my favorite. There is something special about seeing the work take shape as you pose; the drawings or paintings on easels are almost always invisible to the posing model, but the sculpture, as it takes shape, is right out there. The pose in the accompanying photo was one I could not hold for the usual 20 minutes, so I did it 5 minutes at a time, rotating 90 degrees each time, with a short stretching break in between the five minute segments.  

     The paintings posted here are both by Dolores Lombardi, who at the time taught at a private school somewhere on the Mainline. She constantly took classes to improve her skills. The nude painting she told me later she displayed in her dining room, of all places! The robed pose was done by request, and was in the same studio where the nude pose was done. During one night of the nude pose, a videographer was there from New Jersey Public Television, and I gave my permission for him to include me in his shots, so I appear (very briefly and very carefully) in a video that was broadcast on the New Jersey Public Television Network.