 Fredericksburg Artist, Framer Team Up To Benefit Stratford STRATFORD, VA, (June 16, 2004) - Fredericksburg artist Ellen Worthy Stokes and art framer Julie King Sturt have teamed up to assist Stratford by donating print number 1 of a 250 limited edition of "Stratford Rooster." The print, on display at the Plantation Store, will be raffled off on July 4, 2004 at Stratford Hall with the proceeds to benefit Stratford. Framing for the 27" x 17" giclee print was donated by Sturt, owner of Classic Custom Framing in Fredericksburg. In addition to the limited edition print, Stokes and Sturt donated matted 5"x11" open edition Stratford Rooster prints to be sold in the Stratford Hall Plantation Store. The Stokes family association with Stratford Hall began when they lived in Tappahannock in the 1980s. As members of Friends of Stratford, the Stokes frequently visited the Plantation on family outings with their small children. On one of these visits, as the family enjoyed the antics of the bantam chickens, Ellen Stokes sat quietly in front of the stables waiting for the ideal moment to capture on film the majesty of these little creatures. This became the subject for her 1991 watercolor appropriately named "Stratford Rooster." Stokes has generously offered these prints of the Stratford Rooster as an expression of her family's appreciation for all the joy and pleasure Stratford has provided her family for over 20 years. Stokes has recently received national recognition for her work. Her painting, "Giglio Red" was selected by Easter Seals as one of the 10 finalists in the national competition for this year's lily seal. Recent juried, national exhibitions in which Stokes showed include Chicago's Woman Made Gallery, The St. Louis, Missouri Artist Guild, the Fine Arts Exhibition of Decatur (Georgia) Arts Festival at the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College and the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts. Her portrait of Marilyn Monroe "America's Sweetheart" in mixed glitter media was selected for a November, 2003 exhibit at Pen and Brush, Inc in New York City. The Las Vegas (NM) Arts Council selected "Sylvia", a portrait in oil, for their March 2004 exhibit "FACES of WOMAN". Stokes completed her undergraduate and graduate art degrees from the University of Georgia. She maintains a private studio on William Street in downtown Fredericksburg. Sturt has a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Mary Washington College and is a certified professional picture framer. Her frame shop, Classic Custom Framing, is located in the Spotsylvania Crossing Shopping Center on Plank Road in Fredericksburg. Raffle tickets for the print are available both at the Stratford Plantation Store and at Classic Custom Framing. The raffle will be held on July 4, 2004 and raffle tickets are $1 each. About Stratford Stratford is one of the great houses of American history. Its magnificent setting on a high bluff above the Potomac River and its bold architectural style set it apart from any other colonial house, but its highest distinction is the family of patriots who lived there, the Lees of Virginia. Stratford is the birthplace of Robert E. Lee and the home to the only two brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee. It is owned by the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, Inc. which is dedicated to preservation, research and education. The Association interprets to the public Stratford Hall and the plantation life of the Lee family, whose ideals and leadership helped shape democracy in the United States. Visit Stratford Hall online at: http://www.stratfordhall.org |
