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Hope
Center puts art in kids' lives - By Cotton Delo, The Jersey Journal
Staff Writer |
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Before enrolling at Jersey City's Hope Center this summer, many students had never taken an art course. Eight weeks later, their work was exhibited alongside a painting by Pablo Picasso. The Hope Center, which officially opened its doors in May, welcomed renowned classical guitarist Christian Thomas Lee on Wednesday. |
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He brought his instrument and 10 pieces from his extensive art collection to the closing exhibit for the Center's summer program. The 6 p.m. reception, which featured a performance by Lee, was by invitation only, but at 8 p.m., the exhibit was unveiled to the public. Select pieces from Lee's collection have been displayed in classrooms throughout the world, giving youngsters a chance to peruse the original works of virtuosos spanning artistic movements, from High Renaissance to Impressionism to Abstraction. Among Lee's most heavily traveled collectibles are Picasso's 1954 painting "Pour Bernard," Giovanni Battista Pasqualini's 1624 engraving "Christ Devivering the Keys to Heaven to Peter," and an ornate spoon crafted in 1908 by Peter Carl Fabergé for Czar Nicholas. |
 Goauche on Paper, 18 x 21.75 inches The Christian Thomas Lee Collection of Fine Art |
 engraving of The Raising of Lazarus |
Lee estimated that his treasures, which his lucrative standing on the international circuit of musicians enabled him to purchase, are viewed annualy by 50,000 children, noting that inner-city youths are his target audience. The musician recalled being inspired by Beethoven's Sixth Symphony as a young boy, and said he hopes to excite the same ambitions in children who behold his collection. |