Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 13, 1994                   TAG: 9409130070
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PICTURE IS EVERYWHERE, UNFORTUNATELY

T.M., Roanoke

A: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, 1844 -1934, is acknowledged by the Smithsonian Institution as the creator of this widely imitated image.

The Smithsonian lists two works by Coolidge in its Inventory of American Paintings. They are titled "Looks Like Four of a Kind" and "Dogs Playing Cards."

Neither original is in a museum, so far as the Smithsonian knows, but they could be in private collections.

"In my estimation, the works are not masterpieces," said Mark Scala, chief curator at the Art Museum of Western Virginia at Center in the Square.

Scala was kind enough to do some research on your question, and he was being kind toward those paintings. Kitsch is the word used in art circles for one-dimensional humor that's freely copied and sold in high volume.

Scala's museum, in its current show of 19th-century American masterpieces, has a James Henry Beard painting that employs animals in human roles. It shows two wealthy-looking dogs bypassing other dogs and a monkey that are begging on the street.

The Dickensian social commentary in Beard's painting has depth and contemporary relevance and follows a tradition among European and American artists who showed animals doing human things.

The gene pool seems to recede in "Dogs Playing Cards." A more descriptive title might be "Dogs Cheating at Cards."

Flag order

Q: Three flags are displayed at Orange Avenue and Williamson Road with the Virginia state flag in the middle. Shouldn't the American flag be in the middle?

E.H., Salem

A: Those flags, in a mini-park on the northeast corner, are arranged with the U.S. flag in the place of honor on the right-on the flags' right, that is.

The U.S. flag would go in the center only if there were a long row of flags, and then it should be in front of the others.

The flag on the park's third flagpole bears the city seal.

Source: "Your Flag," published by the Boy Scouts of America.

The write choice?

Q: How can I write in a candidate for this fall's Senate election?

D.A., Roanoke

A: Charles Robb, Oliver North, Douglas Wilder and Marshall Coleman have less appeal than "none of the above" for some voters. There's a way for saying so:

The voting machines used in most Roanoke Valley localities have a window you can open to reveal paper and a pencil for writing in your choice for the Senate.

Write-in directions are posted with a sample ballot at your polling place, and they also appear inside the curtain on the machine's lower left side. If they're not clear, ask a precinct official for help.

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.