Art Partnership to Benefit the Environment Launched (D.C.)

Washington, DC, 4/9/2008: When renowned landscape artist Bradley Stevens painted our country’s natural treasures for his What Remains: The American Landscape exhibit at Zenith Gallery last summer, he wanted to call attention to the dramatic beauty of our endangered environment, and inspire action to preserve America’s resources. Sharing Stevens’ enthusiasm, Margery E. Goldberg, founder of The Zenith Community Arts Foundation (ZCAF), has teamed up with Stevens and The Trust for Public Land (TPL) in a unique partnership to produce a special limited-edition portfolio of Gicl?e prints of Stevens’ paintings to support TPL’s conservation efforts. TPL is the first beneficiary of ZCAF’s new eARThly.concerns initiative to use art to benefit the environment.

The gorgeous Gicl?es are now available, and ZCAF is hosting a reception for press and patrons to celebrate the launch of the partnership and portfolio on Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day, 6:30-8:30pm at Zenith Gallery, 413 7th Street NW. Artist Bradley Stevens will be present as will ZCAF and TPL representatives.

Announcing the partnership, Margery Goldberg said, “The idea of putting art to work to benefit the environment had been percolating at ZCAF for some time, and we had decided to make eARThly.concerns our new platform for environmental initiatives. When Brad brought his paintings into the gallery for his upcoming exhibit, it seemed only natural that we seize the opportunity. He, the ZCAF Board and I began talking, and soon after a friend from The Trust for Public Land happened into the gallery. We started discussing the possibilities of partnership, and the rest is history.”

“We couldn’t think of a better way to bring together art and the environment,” said Rose Harvey, senior vice president of The Trust for Public Land. “Bradley Stevens’ artwork captures the beauty of America which The Trust for Public Land is working so hard to protect. We hope that those who appreciate his work will come to appreciate ours as well.”

Bradley Stevens, one of America’s leading realist painters, has enjoyed national acclaim for his powerful and moving landscapes, portraits and cityscapes, which are found today in corporate and private collections and galleries throughout the United States. Noted for his portrait of attorney and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan Jr., now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery as part of its permanent collection, Stevens has also painted portraits of Governor Mark Warner of Virginia and the John D. Rockefeller, IV family. His historical painting commemorating the Connecticut Compromise of 1787 is installed in the U.S. Senate Reception Room, adjacent to the Senate Chambers in the U.S. Capitol.

What Remains: The American Landscape Portfolio Edition consists of four Gicl?es of Stevens’ Aspen Grove (Wyoming), Lee’s Ridge (Virginia), Teton Gold (Wyoming) and Mustard Bloom (California), which can be purchased as the full portfolio or as individual prints, on paper or canvas, each in two different sizes, with a percentage of all sales donated to TPL.

The Zenith Community Arts Foundation, founded in 2000, is the non-profit division of Zenith Gallery, committed to arts advocacy, and using art and creativity to benefit community through partnerships, collaboration, and touring exhibitions. Among ZCAF’s most successful projects is the yearly Food Glorious Food collaboration with the Capital Area Food Bank and area restaurants which was launched in 2005 with a Food Show at Zenith Gallery and 2006 food-themed calendar. In three years, the annual mix of art, food, and charity has generated more than $30,000 for the food bank through calendar sales, Gicl?e prints and associated fundraising events at Zenith Gallery. Also a great success has been ZCAF’s touring exhibition of The Freedom Place Collection, featuring privately owned work by preeminent artists Romare Bearden, Benny Andrews, Alma Thomas, Robert Freeman and Richard Yarde. The collection, never seen in Washington when it was unveiled at Zenith Gallery in fall 2007, has visited Washington’s Congressional Bank and Meridian House International, with next stops scheduled at the University of New England in January 2009 and other venues to be announced. ZCAF’s newest initiative, eARThly.concerns, is expected to grow and expand as the organization develops new partnerships.

The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 2.2 million acres nationwide.

To learn more about the What Remains: The American Landscape Portfolio, visit www.zenithgallery.comor www.tpl.org/bradleystevens, or call Zenith Gallery at 202-783-2963. To see the prints in person, visit Zenith Gallery.

Zenith Gallery, 413 Seventh Street NW, Washington DC 20004
Tuesday-Friday: 11am-6pm, Saturday: 11am-7pm, Sunday: noon-5pm
202-783-2963, www.zenithgallery.com, art@zenithgallery.com