Thanks to all of you for making our event on Saturday a success! Your support of the Da Vinci Art Alliance is very much appreciated. I know you join us in congratulating all the artists who participated in our 2004 Annual Members' Exhibition, and the recipients of the coveted Da Vinci awards:
LiQin Tan, Gold Medal
Antonio Puri, Silver Medal
Nickolay Milyshev, Bronze Medal
Kevin Yarborough, Honorable Mention
Melvin Chappell, Honorable Mention

We hope you enjoyed the evening, and look forward to seeing you at future exhibitions and special events. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the "RePop" reception on September 18 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The dates for picking up your artwork from the Members Exhibition is Saturday, August 28th from 1-6 pm and Wednesday, September 1 from 6-8 pm.

Best Regards from the Board of Directors,
Da Vinci Art Alliance

March 2003

The gallery schedule is full for 2003.
To help with revised recordkeeping (and the winter heating bills), we are asking members to renew their Da Vinci membership early this year.
Let Da Vinci know your e-mail address. Thanks!
Da Vinci is beginning to offer artists their own webpages, expanding on the Member pages section. The details will be worked out shortly, so format and pricing is unavailable until it's settled at the next board meeting. Contact David if you are interested.
Welcome to new members: Carl Johnson and Liz Nicklus from Millville, NJ, and Jyn Paris, Philadelphia.

Members Meeting
Tuesday, October 8, 2002

Come out and speak your mind and meet your fellow artists at this annual meeting.
The Board will meet at 6:30.

Notes from Board Meeting held on August 6, 2001

The Board of Directors requested checking into the costs of obtaining insurance coverage of exhibitions.
It was suggested that a juried exhibition on architecture be held during the 2002 season.
The Board of Directors would like to begin again the tradition of honoring a person from the Philadelphia cultural community with the Da Vinci Art Alliance Medal of Honor.
The Board of Directors decided that an All Members Exhibition should be held once a year. The exhibition should be held each June and would be open to only members of the organization who are in good standing.
The opening receptions at the Da Vinci Art Alliance should be coordinated to coincide with the receptions at the Fleisher Art Memorial.
The recommendation was made to include a calendar of events on the quarterly newsletter.
The Board of Directors acknowledged the need to repair the front steps of the building and bids would be obtained on the costs.
It was suggested that Da Vinci begin an outreach program to seniors and other cultural organizations in the So. Philly area with a slide presentation which would feature members artwork. The slide show could be taken to organizations and a short program given to help publicize the organization and to bring art to shut in, isolated persons.

Member News Fall 2001
In remembrance of Robert A. Donner, Da Vinci Art Alliance member, we print his recent obituary with permission of his family.

Robert Avram Donner was devoted to the arts. He used his considerable talents and high intellect to help change the face of the Philadelphia arts scene.
Donner, a long time member of the Da Vinci Art Alliance, died Friday, August17, 2001. He was 75 and lived in Manayunk. Donner was born in New York City and studied fine art at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. He served in the Army for a year.
Before moving to Philadelphia in 1963, Donner taught at the Art Students League in New York and worked as a sales manager for several firms in the electronics and music industries, including Harold Radio Corp., RCA, Telectrosonic Corp. and the Samson Co. He worked for a short time in light and set design for the Society Hill Playhouse. From 1963-75, Donner worked as a recreation and cultural specialist for Fairmont Park. He helped to develop such programs as Theater in the Streets, Opera in the Park, and the August Festival in Robin Hood Dell. In 1975, he founded Radon Arts Management, through which he helped develop programming for Robin Hood Dell East, worked with the North Jersey Cultural Council and produced "Porgy and Bess" at the Academy of Music.
Donner was also an artist, and his work was shown at the Four Corners Gallery in Manayunk, Tobias Auditorium, the gallery of the Da Vinci Art Alliance and galleries throughout the area. In 1977, he joined the old Philadelphia Journal, as advertising executive and later became advertising manager. He wrote a restaurant review column called "Dining with Donner."
"He had an IQ in the high 180's, but he also had a real fantasy sense of reality which reflected in his artwork and day-to-day life," his son, Ted Donner said. "But at the end of the day he was guided by his heart. He cared about people, so whenever he could do something in the community he would do it."
Donner was a member of Delco Stanton Brith Shalom Lodge No. 59, Athelstan Masonic Lodge No. 482, and the Da Vinci Art Alliance. A son, Ted Donner survives him, and a daughter, Jennifer E. Donner-Reichel, and four grandchildren. Services: Burial was private. A memorial exhibit of his artwork will be held in cooperation with the Da Vinci Art Alliance on January 9-27. Donations may be sent to the Robert A. Donner Memorial Fund, Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19147.

About Port & Slides: this new series features a retrospective thru slides of work by a different artist/s each month. Port wine sipping & slide speak-easy gathering... look, question, discuss... $2.00 donation; free if you're broke, poor thing. Usually a Wednesday mid month from 7-8:30p.m. Call if you're interested in showing a retrospective of your work thru slides; pass the word around to other artists who may be interested... Thanks to Joel Spivak and Warren Angle for their slide retrospective/presentations this past Dec. and Jan.

Previous News from 2000:

New Director Chosen

Meet new Gallery Director David Foss at the members' meeting Wednesday, May 23, 7-8:30pm.
This June begins the residency of the new director for the Da Vinci Art Alliance!!!... meet David Foss (program coordinator of the Art in City Hall program). Welcome, Dave ! Come voice your ideas and hopes for the future of the DaVinci Art Alliance at the next member's meeting, Wednesday, May 23rd 7-8:30p.m.

A special thanks to the members of the board for their continued vision and support in finding a new director.

There was a banquet for retiring director Kathryn Pannepacker on Sunday, May 6.

- Artist, member Melvin Goldfield died suddenly (1939-2000) -his hand-bone music humor is missed; what a guy... wood carver, painter, teacher. In memory of our friend's spirit, please send your donation to the Southwest Senior Center. Donations will be used to acquire art and build a library in his name.
Mail to: Southwest Senior Center, 6916-23 Elmwood Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19142

-Artist, member James P. Bonelli from the early years of DaVinci Art Alliance has also passed (1916-2000). In memory of James P. Bonelli, artist, muralist and teacher, his family and friends have established the JAMES P. BONELLI MEMORIAL ENDOWMENT at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
They wrote and asked to have this information included in a newsletter:

James P. Bonelli was a scholarship student at the PA Academy of the Fine Arts from 1935. There in 1940 he was awarded the distinguished Emlen Cresson Scholarship to study art in Europe. After serving in the armed forces in WWII, he completed his graduate studies at the Academy and at the Univ. of PA, receiving his M.A. in 1949.
He taught at Drexel Institute, Villanova, The School Art League Classes at the Graphic Sketch Club, and at the Dobbins Vocational School from which he retired in 1980. His work as an artist continued all his life.
His painting, drawing, prints, architectural studies were widely exhibited in the U.S. and abroad, winning recognition in prominent competitive exhibitions, among them: The PA Academy of the Fine Arts, The Print Club, the Woodmere Art Museum, DaVinci Art Alliance, & the Sketch Club. Among his many awards were the Natonal Art Club Award, the Artists Equity Triennial Award, the Clarence Wolf Memorial Prize, the Woodmere Endowment Fund Memorial Prize, the Huntington Hartford Foundation Award, the DaVinci Art Alliance and the Allied Artists Silver Medal of Honor. His work is in the permanent collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and in many private collections in the U.S. and abroad. His mural is in the permanent collection in the Chapel of Wittenberg.
Mr. Bonelli's family and friends feel it is fitting to establish The James P. Bonelli Endowment because it best reflects his life long work as an artist and teacher and the highest esteem and gratitude he held for the PA Academy of the Fine Arts. The purpose of the endowment is to provide for the annual purchase of art supplies for a student of oil painting or mural painting. All contributions are tax deductible and are gratefully appreciated.
Please make all contributions payable to:
The James P. Bonelli Memorial Endowment, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, attention: Frederick Osborne.

We have a website: www.angelfire.com/ok3/davinci. SEND UP TO THREE PHOTOS, either print or electronic (sorry, no slides) OF YOUR WORK(w/ name, medium, date, size & price) and a brief statement to get visuals of your work in cyber space! (Digital copies if available.) It's that easy. Mail to gallery, att: website.

Check out local art web site: www.Inliquid.com They've been most supportive about getting visuals and info. on their site about what we're up to here at the gallery, with links to ours.Thanks Rachael, Sharon & staff!