Growing up in the Hamptons we just naturally came into contact with artists and actors and the famous and semi-famous. Personally, I never paid any of those folks much mind. I never had an interest in meeting them or being in their presence as some folk's clamor to do. I just heard the names, the others talking excitedly about having spotted one, like they were an endangered species or something. As I said, I was never really interested and so couldn't say for sure who I met or spotted. Seems like I remember seeing Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs at some time. I could be mistaken though. But whatever.
Now those people were always in the Hamptons, long before it was known as the Hamptons. I remember when East Hampton, Southhampton and Hampton Bays were all separate and distinct places. Same as Springs, Gansett, Montauk or Napeague. Sag Harbor was foreign land, Dodge city we called it. The only reason you went there was to work at the watch factory or drink in the barrooms. Well okay, except when it was time for the whaler's festival. Those folks walked the streets, rode their bicycles, or drove fancy cars. It was a source of amusement to see adults riding a bicycle in those days. Termites we called them. Those folks just came out of the woodwork in the warm weather and destroyed just about everything they touched. Damn termites!
It was in May of 1957 when a famous person befriended my great grandfather. I was three years old at the time and so don't remember this firsthand. My sister often went to visit Gramp as we called him. Floyd Parker Lester was his name and well known in the community. His family had been in the town since its' founding in 1648. The family had enjoyed many highs and lows over the centuries. The man that was visiting Gramp at that time was Victor DePauw. He went on to become somewhat of a well-known artist. Not being a person that follows the art world or famous people I had never heard of him. But as it turned out when Gramp passed away and his things were gone through a piece of paper with a pencil drawing on it was found. This sketch is of my sister and signed by V. DePauw. The internet tells me his name was Victor. My sister would have been seven years old when the drawing was done. She is gone now but her husband has that drawing. I have a digital copy.
Now I did a little research on Victor DePauw and his contributions to the world of art. This what his biography has to say: "Victor De Pauw’s reflection upon “vision” as an impetus is easily understood when you observe the vast and varied expanse of his work. All artists reveal their impressions of the world in their creations, yet Victor De Pauw’s contributions to the art world are as unique and multi-faceted as the man and his life. His early childhood in Vancouver amidst the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains instilled a lifelong passion for the West. His work embraces ethereal pastoral scenes, powerful oils evoking the fierce, unfettered beauty of the West and images of clowns, the rodeo and Indian motifs. Rural subjects would reappear throughout De Pauw’s work, even as he lived as a Manhattan sophisticate. De Pauw’s brushstroke caricatures, still recognizable and celebrated today, captured the legends of stage and screen for publishing icons like Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. With bold, seemingly effortless economy, De Pauw’s airbrush rendered James Cagney, Ethel Barrymore and many other greats with a raw, visceral power. In fact, De Pauw’s drawing style remains characteristic of The New Yorker to this day."
As it turns his artwork isn't very valuable, however. Much of it is available on E-Bay and art dealers. For less than a hundred dollars you can buy an original. Well rats, why couldn't Dali or Van Gogh have stopped by to visit Gramp. Heck, Willem de Kooning lived right down the street from him but no paint splatters from him! Well, I think it is still pretty cool to have an original pencil sketch drawn by someone who is at least marginally famous. Cool because it is my sister in the drawing. I may have been there when it was done but I figure I must not have been. Otherwise, he would have certainly drawn me with her. I was probably taking a nap.
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