139 FIG. 10: Elaine Ellman, George Lois and Vitrine, 1989. dozens of times thereafter to his private back room and basement to view his stock and discuss art in all its aspects (and listen to his gossip about the bestknown of his clientele). Within a few years, first buying masterworks on an installment plan and then with newly acquired purchasing power (when my dynamic advertising agency went public), Rosie and I had acquired a superb array of tribal art. Eleven of the many pieces we pried away from them are beautifully rendered in the 1967 autobiographical portrait of the Klejmans by Lewandowski-Lois (Rosie’s professional name). When Mr. Klejman saw Rosie’s portrait of him and his wife in their inner sanctum, he hugged her, kissed bothher cheeks, and cried “Na zdrowie, madame” (a toast meaning “to your health”). The monumental uli figure from New Ireland, shown on the far left, today proudly stands guard at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of their greatest Oceanic sculptures. TA: Did African art ever influence your own work and does it continue to affect you? GL: Mysteriously, the history of the art of mankind can inspire breakthrough conceptual creative thinking. My knowledge and love of 7,000 years of the art of mankind has always inspired my creative thinking as a graphic designer and mass communicator. With my designer’s eye and with my wife’s great passion for art, we continue the thrilling experience of living with masterworks chosen (when affordable) from dozens of ancient and primitive cultures. Our spiritual day of worship is spent each Sunday at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we experience on each visit, without fail, the shock of the old!
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