By Philip Newman
There among the paintings of elegant ladies both clothed and nude, many of them accompanied by leopards and tigers, is the likeness of a dapper man in a dark suit with a perfectly folded breast pocket handkerchief.
Yes, it's the late John Gotti, once known as the “Teflon Don,” whose name perhaps as much as his Howard Beach widow's talent with a brush, has generated worldwide interest in her paintings.
Twenty paintings by Victoria Gotti, whose husband died last year while serving a life term in prison for racketeering as head of the Gambino crime family, are on display at a Manhattan art gallery.
“To say there has been interest in the exhibition is an understatement,” said Kevin Platt, co-owner of Gale-Martin Fine Art gallery on 10th Avenue at 18th Street in Chelsea.
“We have had the press from all over the world,” said Platt this week. “We have had visits from Europress, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), CNN, CBS, Fox and the newspaper The Scotsman. Those immediately come to mind, but there have been many others.”
What first set off the great amount of attention the exhibition has received for the work of a previously unknown artist who has spent most of her life out of the spotlight in Howard Beach?
“We issued our own announcement, of course, but it was the Daily News,” said Platt, who explained that the exhibition was arranged through mutual friends of Mrs. Gotti and the gallery. “After their story, we started receiving calls from the media.”
Victoria Gotti, who first appeared at an invitation-only showing of the paintings before the show opened to the public, said painting was a hobby from which she has derived both solace and peace, particularly at times of tragedy such as when her son died in an auto accident in 1980 and her infamous husband died in prison in 2002.
The paintings depict well-dressed women, some in an oriental motif, with cats of various breeds, including lions and tigers at their sides as well as several of nude men and women in amorous circumstances.
Mrs. Gotti's daughter, Victoria, a celebrated author, was quoted in one news report as saying that her father took a dim view of the nudes as he was of the “old school” and rather old-fashioned.
Although the exhibition is titled “In Praise of Older Women,” two of the paintings are of men and both are to be auctioned with proceeds going to charity.
The painting of John Gotti with tall buildings as a backdrop is to be auctioned with proceeds going to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Tennessee. A painting of a New York City firefighter with two angels hovering nearby is also to be auctioned with half the proceeds going to charity.
The paintings were expected to fetch between $4,000 and $6,500 each. Platt declined to say how many have been sold.
Mrs. Gotti told interviewers that the presence of cats in her paintings represented her ideal of women because she believes cats express both strength and femininity.
Platt said that despite the interest in the Gotti exhibition, it had the potential for “maybe five times as much” publicity.
“That is, if Mrs. Gotti was willing to sit almost endlessly before reporters and cameras,” he said. “But, of course, this has been tiring and disruptive and she has, at least for the time being, declared a moratorium on interviews.”
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136.
