Two exhibits play with ideas of romance, comedy

Romance and comedy, two ideas that go together like wine and cheese. The von Liebig Art Center plays host to two exhibits featuring these themes: Robert Vickery's Romantic Realism and Art for Amusements Sake: Original Comic Art Drawings from the Collection of Charles Woodruff.

Both exhibits opened Feb. 4. The romance will linger through Sunday, Feb. 26, and the comedy will come to an end March 18.

Vickrey is a Naples artist, who paints primarily using the difficult technique of egg tempera. As he celebrates his 80th birthday this year, he can look back on a life filled with art. After graduating from the Yale School of Fine Arts, he studied at the Art Students League of New York. He first exhibited at the Creative Gallery in 1951 in New York City. He is represented in the permanent collection of more than 75 museums. He also created 80 portraits that have been used on the cover of Time, 45 of which are now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Art for Amusements Sake will feature original drawings by artists such as Charles Schulz (Peanuts Creator), Eldon Dedini (New Yorker cartoonist) and Lyn Johnson (artist of For Better of For Worse).

The exhibit features illustrations, adventure, contemporary and historic comics dating from the early 20th century through the 1980s.

The collection comes from Naples resident Charles Woodruff who began collecting gag art more than 50 years ago when he was an art student in New York.

The Art Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. For directions or more information, call 262-6517 or visit naplesart.org.