THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602020170
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
A visiting SoHo art gallery owner was the inspiration behind this year's annual fund raiser of the Portsmouth Academy of Medicine Alliance.
Marvin Carson, who owns Gallery Revel in New York City, was visiting his daughter's family in Western Branch last year when he was invited to attend a progressive dinner benefiting PAMA's philanthropic and scholarship funds.
While here, Carson suggested to his daughter, Jennifer Carson - PAMA member and this year's chair of fund raising - that having an art auction might prove rewarding as well as entertaining.
It was the beginning of the Gala Art Exhibition and Auction, planned for 6:30 to 9 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Church of the Resurrection, 3501 Cedar Lane.
The auction, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., will feature framed prints, lithographs, serigraphs and original oil paintings provided by Gallery Revel. PAMA, made up of the spouses of physicians who practice in Portsmouth, will receive 20 percent of all sales proceeds for its charitable projects.
In addition, the organization will receive all the proceeds from the sale of a painting donated by the gallery as well as from an unframed oil canvas painted by Dr. Jeffery S. Molle', a general surgeon with offices in Churchland.
About 200 pieces of art will be auctioned, starting around $50 for lithographs to several hundred dollars for serigraphs and upwards of $500 for original oil paintings, said Carson, wife of Dr. Ernesto Luciano, an orthopaedic surgeon with Orthopaedic Surgery, Ltd.
``There will also be a window of opportunity - I don't know if it will be two weeks or a month - where any purchase that came out of the auction within a certain amount of time would go to us,'' said Carson.
The scholarship fund provides financial assistance to local nursing and medical students, while the philanthropic fund supports health concerns in Portsmouth.
``I have no idea how much money will be raised, but I hope it's an awful lot,'' said Carson, who added that beneficiaries of the fund raiser will be decided on at a later date.
Money raised from last year's progressive dinner went to the Portsmouth Community Health Center to build a nurse's station. A donation also was given to the center's prescription medicine fund.
This is the first time the organization has extended invitations to the public to its annual fund raiser, although the majority of the 300 people expected to attend will be members and spouses from the Portsmouth Academy of Medicine.
``We'd love for people to come if they're interested. I'm hoping it will be a fun evening,'' said Carson, a lawyer who has put her career on hold to raise three preschool-aged children. A fourth child is due in the spring.
In addition to her duties with PAMA, Carson is active in the Portsmouth Mother of Twins Club; the South Hampton Roads Chapter of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, which she co-founded; and Oasis, on whose board she has served since 1992. She also serves as the local recruiter for Bryn Mawr College, an all-women's school in Bryn Mawr, Penn.
Admission to the art auction is $25 per person or $120 for a group of six. Admission includes hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and desserts by Taste Unlimited and an open bar. Reservations must be made by Feb. 9. For tickets, call 488-2508. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jennifer Carson is chair of the benefit art auction.
Blue Shutters, by Hing Biu.
by CNB