New York Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Art Swindle - New York Times

A New York City man pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of wire fraud in a case in which the authorities said he persuaded an investor to buy a painting by the 19th-century French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, inflated the price and then pocketed some of the money.

The man, Thomas A. Doyle, 53, persuaded the investor, Gary Fitzgerald, to invest in the painting, saying that together they could buy it for $1.1 million, according to the United State’s attorney’s office in Manhattan. According to a complaint, Mr. Fitzgerald sent Mr. Doyle $880,000 for an 80 percent ownership stake; Mr. Doyle was to furnish the remaining $220,000.

But Mr. Doyle had actually negotiated to buy the painting, “Portrait of a Girl,” for $775,000, court records show.

Mr. Doyle deposited the investor’s money in his own bank account and told him that another investor had been found who would pay $1.7 million to buy the painting. No such investor existed, the complaint said, and an experienced art appraiser had said that the painting was likely to sell at auction for $500,000 to $700,000. “Thomas Doyle’s purchase of ‘Portrait of a Girl’ was never authentic or genuine,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney said in a statement, “and now he will pay for his sham with prison time.”

Mr. Doyle, who has a long criminal record, including grand larceny in the third degree, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 11.

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CALIFORNIAN GO!: Arts & Entertainment for July 3-9, 2011 - North County Times

"Parker Collection: Images of the Brush Country" ---- Dr. Horace Parker, "Parkie" to his friends, grew up in Temecula when the town was quite remote and very rural (his father was the last railroad attendant at the Temecula Station). A veterinarian, Parkie and his wife lived and worked in Orange County for many years. He became a researcher, historian and writer, picking up interesting bits of Southern California history, and put together a series of columns called "Brush Country Journal." See the photographic collection of Parker's "Brush Country Journal" in this exhibit that continues through Aug. 28; museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays (closed Mondays); Temecula Valley Museum, Sam Hicks Monument Park, 28314 Mercedes St., Old Town Temecula; 951-694-6450.

"Robots + Us" ---- The Western Science Center hosts the "Robots + Us" exhibit through Sept. 11. The exhibit explores what it means to be human by examining the lifelike machines humans build, and includes hands-on activities and many videos showing robots from movies, popular literature and research labs. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays; Western Science Center, 2345 Searl Pkwy., Hemet; $8, adults (13 and older); $6.50, seniors (62+); $6, youths (5 to 12); $6.50, students (13-22 with current ID); free, youths age 4 and younger and military with current ID; 951-791-0033, westerncentermuseum.org.

Praise Him With Dancing 2011 ---- Presented by Dunamix Dance Project. An encouraging performance of dance, your heart will be touched by this meaningful show presented by Dunamix dancers. Ages 3 through adult, beginning through professional; 3 p.m.; Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula; $15-$18; 866-653-8696, temeculatheater.org.

Classics at the Merc ---- Featuring "Americana!" with Lori Bell, flute, and Diane Snodgrass, piano; 3 p.m.; The Merc, Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula; $11 adults and $5 students); 866-653-8696, temeculatheater.org.

The Four Tops & The Temptations ---- The Four Tops are among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s. They had a stream of hit singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There." Formed in Detroit in 1960, the Temptations have always featured at least five male vocalists/dancers. Known for their choreography, distinctive harmonies, and sharp suits, the Temptations have been said to be as influential to soul as The Beatles are to pop and rock. Having sold tens of millions of albums, they are one of the most successful groups in music history; 6 p.m.; The Arena, Soboba Casino, 23333 Soboba Road, San Jacinto; 866-476-2622, soboba.net.

Welk Resorts Summer Music Festival with Freda Payne ---- The Welk Resorts presents the '70s pop/R&B singer performing "A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald," along with outdoor picnicking, barbecue dinners, children's activities, artisan booths and more; 7 p.m.; Welk Resorts, 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido; $25, adults; $10, children; 888-802-7469.

Jenni Rivera ---- Latin pop; 7:30 p.m.; Grandstand Stage, San Diego County Fair, Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar; $20-$50 (includes admission to the fair); sdfair.com, ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

Agent Orange ---- Poisoning punk rock at the Royal Dive. Raging Bettie and Hulaguns also on the bill; 9 p.m.; 2949 San Luis Rey Road, Oceanside; $8; royaldivebar.com or 760-722-1911.

MONDAY, July 4

DVAC Summer Art Camp ---- The Diamond Valley Arts Council will hold a Summer Art Camp for ages 5 to 17 at its Esplanade Arts Center in San Jacinto. The art camp, funded partly by a grant from Riverside County Third District Supervisor Jeff Stone, will offer drawing, painting and crafts using a variety of techniques in a fun, creative and safe environment. All supplies will be provided through a donation from Altura Credit Union. Classes taught by Mary Hemje and Joan Pikard, the instructors for the ASES after-school art program of the San Jacinto Unified School District; 1 to 3 p.m. through Aug. 12; Esplanade Arts Center, 2181 W. Esplanade Ave., San Jacinto; $60 per week; 951-207-8172, thedvac.org.

REO Speedwagon ---- With Navy Band Southwest and fireworks; 7:30 p.m.; Grandstand Stage, San Diego County Fair, Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar; free with paid admission to the fair: $7-$13; $22-$33, reserved (includes fair admission); $100, dinner package (includes floor seating, fair admission and parking); 800-745-3000, sdfair.com or ticketmaster.com.

TUESDAY, July 5

"The Concert for Clarence" ---- Bruce Springsteen tribute band Thunder Road's musical remembrance of recently deceased saxophonist and E Street member Clarence Clemons; 7 p.m.; Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach; $10-$12; bellyup.com or 858-481-4040.

"Shrek the Musical" opens ---- Broadway/San Diego presents the national touring production of this stage musical based on the Dreamworks film about a grumpy ogre, his donkey companion and a princess with a big secret; 7 p.m. (also 7 p.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday,  2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. July 10); San Diego Civic Theatre, Third Avenue at B Street, San Diego; call for ticket prices; 619-570-1100.

WEDNESDAY, July 6

Joe Torry --- Torry, a nationally known actor/comedian and native of St. Louis, has developed an impressive resume in the entertainment business and in life; 8 and 10 p.m. (also Saturday); Pechanga Comedy Club, Pechanga Resort & Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula; $22; 877-711-2946, pechanga.com/comedyclub.

THURSDAY, July 7

Summer Concert Series ---- Featuring Class of '69; 7 p.m.; Temecula Community Recreation Center Amphitheater, 28075 Rancho Vista Road, Temecula; free; 951-694-6480.

Jazz at the Merc ---- Featuring the Keith Droste Trio; 7:30 p.m.; The Merc, Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula; $15; 866-653-8696, temeculatheater.org.

"Hamlet" previews ---- Shakespeare in the Vines presents the group's sixth Outdoor Summer Season. "Hamlet" is praised as one of the greatest plays ever written. The young Prince Hamlet returns home to find his father has died, his mother has married his uncle, and all is not well in the state of Denmark; 7:30 p.m. preview (also Friday-Saturday, July 10, 15-17 and 22-23); Stuart Cellars Winery, Stuart Cellars Winery, 33515 Rancho California Road, Temecula; $15-$30; shakespeareinthevines.org.

FRIDAY, July 8

"Cinderella" ---- Presented by Inland Valley Classical Ballet Theatre and Svetlana's Dance Academy. A beloved fairy tale becomes alive with this version of the Cinderella ballet performed by Inland Valley Classical Ballet Theatre and Svetlana's Dance Academy. When Cinderella's cruel stepmother and hideous stepsisters prevent her from attending the Royal Ball, a delightful fairy godmother appears. With a wave of her wand, she transforms a simple pumpkin into a magical coach, mice into horses ---- and Cinderella's rags into a gorgeous gown. At the ball, Cinderella falls in love with Prince Charming, but must flee before the stroke of midnight breaks the spell; 7 p.m. (also Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. July 10); Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula; $15-$22; 866-653-8696, temeculatheater.org.

SATURDAY, July 9

See "The Find Magnified" in Fallbrook ---- "The Find Magnified" art show and sale runs through July 31 at Fallbrook Art Center; regular hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; artists' reception, 1 to 5 p.m.; 103 S. Main St., Fallbrook; $5 admission fee waived during the "The Find Magnified" exhibit; fallbrookartcenter.org or 760-728-1414.

14th annual Art Show artists reception --- This year's theme is "Ranching in the Heart of Nature"; 5 to 7 p.m.; Santa Rosa Plateau, 39400 Clinton Keith Road, Murrieta; $15 reservation donation; 951-677-6951, srpf.org.

Evan St. James ---- 7 p.m.; Scarcella's Italian Grill & Pizzeria, 27525 Ynez Road, Temecula; 951-676-5450, scarcellasgrill.com.

Country at the Merc ---- Live country music; 7 and 9 p.m.; The Merc, Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula; $15; 866-653-8696.

Dave Koz ---- Part of the Thornton Winery 2011 Champagne Jazz series. In a career that spans 20 years and a dozen albums, saxophonist Dave Koz has established himself as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary music. Koz finds himself in an era of dramatic and sweeping change and embraces it ---- and the uncertainty that comes with it ---- on "Hello Tomorrow," his debut on Concord Records released in 2010; 7 p.m. July 9-10; Thornton Winery, 32575 Rancho California Road Temecula; 951-699-3021, thorntonwine.com.

Matchbox Twenty with Vanessa Carlton ---- Matchbox Twenty rose to international fame with their debut album, "Yourself or Someone Like You," which was certified diamond in the United States and multi-platinum in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Their second album, "Mad Season," charted in the top three on the Billboard 200 and was certified four times platinum in the United States. Their third album, "More Than You Think You Are," was certified double platinum in the United States. For Carlton's fourth album, "Rabbits on the Run (Razor & Tie)," she needed a fresh start. She had been going at full sprint since the platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated "Be Not Nobody" and she thinks she's found the right mix; 8 p.m.; Outdoor stage, Pechanga Resort & Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula; $45-$70; 877-711-2946, pechanga.com/entertainment.

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Body Art - Albany Times Union

To Tat or Not to Tat?

Over the past couple of years, getting a tattoo has become something of a rite of passage in Brigid Beckman Schmidt's family. It started when her son asked for a Lark Tattoo gift certificate for his birthday. Her other son was the next to get one, followed by her daughter. So perhaps it wasn't a big surprise when, for her 47th birthday, Schmidt's children chipped in to get her a tattoo.

"I had said, for probably five or six years, someday I might get a tattoo. I had been divorced for about a year. I traveled and wrote and landed on my feet again and that year, for my birthday, I threw myself a big party and my kids gave me a $100 gift certificate for Lark Street, daring me to put my money where my mouth was."

Schmidt knew exactly what she wanted. She chose three Chinese symbols representing dance, joy and warrior that had been painted by a local artist and which her son had framed as a Mother's Day gift. "They mean a lot to me," says Schmidt. "It's about my becoming a joyful, dancing warrior."

As tattoos have become more mainstream, a growing number of women -- many of whom had toyed with the idea of tattoos for years -- are plucking up their courage and getting ink done. They're all ages and come from all backgrounds, but most of them share one thing in common: They're getting meaningful tattoos for personal reasons to mark pivotal events in their lives.

"I love the way they look. I look for shirts that have a V in the back and shoes that show them off. I love it when people ask me what they are and what they mean. It's nice for me to tell the story," says Schmidt. "But I have them because I love them."

What to know before you go

Tattoo artists have a saying: "Good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good." If you're considering getting a tattoo, look for the best artist, not the best price, because it will cost you much more to remove a bad tattoo than it will to get a good one.

Tattoo artist Josh Lyons of Albany Modern Body Art says people often hire him to go over old tattoos that they weren't happy with. "You need to research the art work, research the artist, really sit down and communicate, check over references and pictures of previous work," he says. The good news is that an increasing number of talented artists and art students are choosing to make their careers in this nontraditional medium.

As a former teacher, Schmidt knew enough to do her homework before she took the plunge. She chose Lark Tattoo, she says, because "it's been around for a long time, has a reputation for being exceptionally clean and professional, and all the artists there are artists. I picked Kara because my friend,

Alicia, had had another one done with her. I looked through the books of different artists and thought her sensibility was close to mine."

It's also a good idea to sit with the image for a while before taking the plunge, which is something that Alicia learned the hard way. Alicia Wein, 37, of Albany got her first tattoo at age 22 at the same time as her mother, who wanted one to celebrate her 40th birthday. Today, Wein has four tattoos that she loves, but the one on her back covers a tattoo she didn't like.

"I had a Celtic knot with a tree in the middle of it. I didn't like the look of it. Now I know it was the skill of the artist. I have just seen work that's much better," says Wein. "It wasn't as carefully selected as my other ones. I didn't live with the image for a while."

No Pain, No Gain

The growing popularity of tattoos has had a dramatic impact, not only on the level of artistry but also on the industry as a whole. Technical advances in inks and equipment have opened up a new world of artistic possibilities and greater oversight ensures everything is done safely. "There used to be a lot of dangerous inks on the market," says Lyons. "These days pretty much everything is regulated and safe."

Reputable tattoo artists are licensed by the Albany County Department of Health and certified in blood borne pathogens by OSHA, reducing the risk of infections, such as Hepatitis and HIV, which are spread via dirty needles. Lawmakers have also made it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to get a tattoo.

The one thing that hasn't changed, however, is the suffering associated with the art. While Kara was tattooing the first character on her back, Schmidt says she was chitchatting to her friend thinking, "this isn't bad at all." Having her feet tattooed, however, was a whole different story. Even though she'd given birth to four children, Schmidt says, "It hurts a lot. I handled it by swearing a lot."

Although feet and ribs have become increasingly popular places for women to get tattoos -- because it allows them to see the tattoos and show them off, or cover them up if need be -- any place where the skin is close to the bone is going to be more painful than an area padded by fat and muscle.

For Clifton Park resident Liz Marsh, 41, however, getting a tattoo was nothing compared to the pain she experienced after breast reduction surgery. "I had a bad reaction to the sutures," says Marsh. "I spit stitches for about four months and had modest scarring. It wasn't so much the aesthetics but seeing that made me remember the four months of pain."

The idea of covering the scars with a tattoo didn't occur to her until she learned that many breast cancer survivors had found great solace in tattoos after surgery."I was looking for a way to reclaim my body and feel good about it again," Marsh says, noting that in her case, the transformation was instant. "Instead of being reminded of those very challenging months of recovery, I was looking down at the beautiful humming bird and a lotus flower, and it shifted that quickly," she say.

So while the days of drunken sailors stumbling into a local tattoo parlor and picking flash art off the wall may not be completely over, for many women at least, tattoos are becoming living art and a way to mark the turning points in their lives. "I feel deep pleasure and happiness just looking at them, because it reminds me of what they symbolize," says Schmidt. "Everything I experience now is through joy. I've tapped into my warrior strength, and I'm dancing through life!"

Til Death Do You Part? (or, what to do if you can't live with that tattoo)

Few people forget their first love but most don't want to be reminded of their ex on a daily basis. Johnny Depp's solution, to turn his Winona tattoo into Wino, is one way to deal with people who literally get under your skin. Tattoo artists say they are often asked to rework old tattoos to obscure names, but if you're really intent on a clean slate, other options exist. Be warned, however, few are cheap, most are painful, and none guarantee complete success.

The easiest, most affordable but probably least effective tattoo removal process comes in a tube. All tattoos fade to some degree over time if exposed to sunlight. Topical creams aim to speed and maximize fading by bringing the tattooed layer of skin closer to the surface and prevent the pigment from spreading to new layers of skin.

After extensive product testing, the Tattoo Removal Association ranked Tat-Med, Profade, Wrecking Balm, Tat B Gone, and Tattoo Fading (in that order) as the most effective and safest products on the market in 2010. The association, however, warns consumers about creams containing harmful chemicals, such as Hydroquinone (a carcinogen that has been banned in a number of countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) and Trichloroacetic Acid, which literally burns off layers of skin.

Professional removal options include dermabrasion (sanding the skin off); salabrasion (using a salt block to rub the skin off); excision (cutting the tattoo out and stitching the skin back together); and skin grafts. Because these techniques can result in scarring, however, the most popular and effective professional procedure is laser tattoo removal.

At the Center for Facial Plastic Surgery and Laser Skin Care in Albany, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Arthur N. Falk uses high-energy, rapid-pulsed Q-switched lasers to break up the pigment in tattoo ink. Black, blue, and red are the easiest to disperse while yellow and green have staying power that makes them difficult to eliminate. In 2007, New York-based company Freedom2 produced a new tattoo ink made of smaller molecules encased in polymers that could be dissolved and dispersed completely after just one laser treatment. The product, called Infinitink, has yet to be widely embraced by tattoo artists, however, who prefer to think of their art as permanent.

If you thought getting the tattoo was painful, brace yourself. Even with a topical anesthetic, laser tattoo removal is more painful and the process typically requires six to eight treatments -- if not more -- over the course of at least as many months to give skin time to heal between each procedure. The price of removal is based on the size of the tattoo but it's not cheap. A tattoo that cost less than $100 could cost thousands to remove.

That, says Lori Kicinski, coordinator for the Center for Facial Plastic Surgery and Laser Skin Care in Albany, can be cost prohibitive for many of the under-30 set who come in seeking the procedure, which is why she advises people to take a long view before they decide on a tattoo. "People need to consider themselves 15 to 20 years down the road in terms of what their lifestyle may be and when they're choosing locations, how obvious the location might be," Kicinski says. "I don't think people know how difficult it is to remove them. When they say permanent tattooing, they're not joking."

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Build an art collection by staying true to yourself - Times Daily

“I always tell people, if you like it and you want it, you will find a place for it,” Waterman said, laughing.

The walls of her downtown Florence home are filled — and she's adamant about having more than one piece on a single wall — with unique pieces she and husband Daniel have gathered from their travels, from wooden carvings from east Africa to brass and bronze metalwork from India. The Waterman home is its own museum of treasures.

“It's pretty eclectic, I guess,” she said. “I think the main thing is that we really like very original art, something that's a little different and a little unique. I just always appreciate the work that goes into it and how people visualize things and tell sort of a story about their lives and what influences them.”

Purchasing art doesn't have to be intimidating. Building a collection means learning more about the art world and about what you like, and finding a theme — whether it's subject matter, medium, artists or style — that ties the works together. In Waterman's case, the theme is there is no theme, and that can work for a collection, too.

Collecting is “more methodic than just starting out there with no guidance,” said Catherine Evans, curator of photography at the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio. There needs to be “some narrowing or defining of what resonates with you.”

A good place to start is by consulting with gallery owners, museum curators and artists, who often are eager to share their knowledge. Beth Batton, curator of the collection at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, encourages people to visit museums and galleries and figure out what medium they like. Then seek out good examples.

“Educate your eye,” she said. “If you find you really like photography, try to understand the techniques.”

Waterman frequents arts festivals in the Shoals, from First Fridays every Friday in downtown Florence to the annual Arts Alive festival in Florence each May to the recent Helen Keller Festival. The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts in Florence and the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia also have numerous exhibits throughout the year, many with items available for purchase.

“When we moved to Alabama about 10 years ago, we were very interested in finding Alabama artists and Southern artists,” Waterman said. “We try to purchase one item every year from Arts Alive and have been able to pick up some really interesting things.”

She, like Route of Art gallery owner Jaime Weaver, is attracted to what is called outsider art — some of it funky, but all of it having a story to tell.

“A lot of it, you're not necessarily selling the piece, it's the person's story,” said Weaver in an interview in the fall shortly before she opened her gallery in downtown Florence.

A personal connection to a work always is important, but sometimes, said artist and collector Jean Schulman, you should go with your gut.

“I collect anything that I like,” said Schulman, of Florence, whose collection spans the globe, was built throughout the past 50 years and at one time was on display at the Kennedy-Douglass.

It contains watercolors, oil paintings, drawings, prints, pottery and photography. Some pieces come from her former students; she started the art program at Muscle Shoals High School and taught there for 20 years.

“I collected because I like the pieces, and I didn't want to leave them,” she said. “I was not thinking about, ‘Oh, I want to buy this because it's really good and it's going to be worth something.' I don't think I've parted with a single piece I've ever bought.”

As you shop around and are drawn to specific works, figure out why those pieces of art move you, said Aprile Gallant, curator of prints, drawings and photos for the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Mass. The theme you choose can be broad, she said, and can focus on an activity, place or era.

Having a focus gives a collection coherence and personality and also can help art buyers choose more wisely, Batton said.

“It keeps you from spending money on an impulse purchase,” she said.

“You don't have to have a huge income to be able to start an art collection.”

And any type of art, at any price, can make for a great gift, Waterman said. One of Schulman's students once purchased a painting of hers to give to his mother for Mother's Day. He paid in $5 monthly increments.

“It starts somebody's collection,” Waterman said. “You can start small, and it will just continue to grow.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sarah Carlson can be reached at 256-740-5722 or sarah.carlson@TimesDaily.com.

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Art cars drive Fremont Fair fun - The Seattle Times

It all started with an embarrassing old car nobody would take a second look at.

For Kelly Lyles it was a Ford Pinto, for Rex Rosenberg it was a Subaru Legacy, and for Tim Klein it was a Chrysler Imperial Crown luxury car.

But it wasn't anything that paint, glue, 70 pounds of dentures and about four miles of yarn couldn't fix.

These three display their "art cars" this weekend at the Fremont Fair Art Car Blowout. Because reborn as the "Pinteau," the "ChewBaru" and the "Yarn Car," people would definitely take a second look.

"I was mortified to be seen in a Pinto," said Lyles, co-coordinator of the art-car showcase. "So I added some horse hood ornaments, pinto spots and even got it professionally painted. ... The shop said, 'You're kidding. You want to do a $1,000 paint job on a $500 car?' "

The Blowout showcases more than 50 cars from all over the country and British Columbia, driving from as far as Florida, Texas and West Virginia. Many of the cars aren't even recognizable anymore. Decorations include gnomes, cigarette butts and even the King himself — Elvis.

"It's kind of a silly thing — the way we take a boring thing we all have, like a car, and make it unique and interesting," said Marlow Harris, a Seattle real-estate agent who will be showing off her "Elvis Mobile."

"The most most folks do is hang a graduation tassel in the rearview mirror, or have vanity plates, but people don't tend to customize cars. Maybe they are afraid of resale, but whatever you do, you can undo."

For example, instead of painting Elvis on her car, Harris applies Elvis magnets. That way, during the winter season and the rain, she can take the magnets off her 2001 Volkswagen Eurovan.

But for others like Klein and his Yarn Car, the changes are more permanent.

"There's no manual that tells you how to do this kind of thing," said Klein, a software engineer from Vancouver, Wash., who took a year to figure out how to adhere yarn to his car. "But now that I have the technique down, I can completely redo all the yarn on the car in about three months. I have to refurbish it every few years, since I do drive it around as a regular car, and eventually the sun fades it and the wind frays it. People say I should put some sort of protective clear coat over the yarn. But then it wouldn't be fuzzy, would it?"

While the art-car scene has increased in popularity over the years, Seattle has its own version of the show element.

"Anybody with a paint-splattered car is welcomed to join us," said Lyles.

On the other hand, shows like the one in Houston, Texas — called the nation's biggest with 250 to 300 autos — have requirements. They are competitions, with hundreds of thousands at stake, whereas Seattle's is more like a family gathering. Drivers motor across the nation in a caravan and take in the Seattle sights before settling in for the show. And, coordinators ensure that drivers are housed and gas paid for.

"It's a very tight-knit group," said Lyles. "Many folks say they found their tribe when joined up with us."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com

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A Billionaire's Eye for Art Shapes Her Singular Museum - New York Times

Yet her mission is unlike those of her predecessors, or of more recent art patrons like Ronald S. Lauder and his Neue Galerie. They set out to put great works on display in cultural capitals like New York and Boston. Instead, Ms. Walton’s Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art — the first major institution dedicated to American artists in 50 years, to be housed in a building more than twice the size of the current Whitney Museum of American Art — seeks to bring high art to middle America here in this town of 35,000 that is best known as the home of Wal-Mart. 

Ms. Walton, the daughter of Wal-Mart’s founder, Sam Walton, has worked on the museum for nearly a decade, but has said little about it in public until now. In a recent interview at Town Branch, her family home here, she said she wanted to turn Bentonville into an international destination for art lovers when the museum opens on Nov. 11. At the moment the most significant nearby cultural attractions are two hours away: a museum of Western and American Indian art in Tulsa, Okla., and, in the other direction, the country-music magnet of Branson, Mo.

“For years I’ve been thinking about what we could do as a family that could really make a difference in this part of the world,” said Ms. Walton, who is 61. “I thought this is something we desperately need, and what a difference it would have made were it here when I was growing up.”

The 201,000-square-foot museum was designed by the Boston architect Moshe Safdie for a site around two ponds on 120 acres of former Walton family land. Named for the nearby Crystal Spring, the museum will display top-flight works by American masters from the colonial era to the present, with the largest concentrations coming from the 19th and 20th centuries. Although the collection — currently about 600 paintings and sculptures — is still small by the standards of big museums, it is growing at a steady clip.

“She has not just been concentrating on what could be perceived as the greatest hits in American art,” said John Wilmerding, an art historian and professor at Princeton University, who has been advising Ms. Walton for seven years and is now on the Crystal Bridges board. “She has collected the work of some of these artists in depth,” quietly amassing substantial bodies of work by figures like Martin Johnson Heade, Stuart Davis, George Bellows and John Singer Sargent.

Ms. Walton, who has been an art collector most of her life, turned to buying art specifically for the museum in 2005, resulting in a years-long spending spree that has made her a recognized force in the art market. She has been one of those mysterious anonymous buyers at auctions and at galleries who often pay top dollar and has spent many tens of millions of dollars on works like Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington from 1797 ($8.1 million), Asher B. Durand’s “Kindred Spirits” from 1849 ($35 million) and Norman Rockwell’s 1943 “Rosie the Riveter” ($4.9 million).

She has also bought more recent works, including a Jasper Johns “Alphabets” painting from 1960-62 (priced at $11 million) and a 1985 Warhol silkscreen of Dolly Parton and a 2009 Chuck Close triptych depicting Bill Clinton (prices unknown). (She is hoping that both Ms. Parton and Mr. Clinton, a friend, will attend the opening.)

Her museum has commissioned several major site-specific works, including a giant silver tree by Roxy Paine that sits at the entrance and a hypnotic large-scale light installation by James Turrell. (The museum’s director, Don Bacigalupi, recruited nearly two years ago from the Toledo Museum of Art, is a specialist in contemporary art and has been encouraging Ms. Walton to expand the museum’s holdings by living artists.)

Museum officials said they were planning for about 250,000 visitors in their first year and expect an annual operating budget of $16 million to $20 million. In addition to the 120 full-time jobs the institution is creating, they said, it will pump millions of tourist dollars into northwest Arkansas.

Ms. Walton first started thinking seriously about building an art museum on family land in the late 1990s and brought it up a few times at the meetings the family holds three times a year. She felt she needed the backing of her nieces and nephews, she said, because the land would have eventually become theirs. (Ms. Walton, who is divorced, has no children.)

“That decision brewed for a year and a half,” she said in her Arkansas drawl, before there was unanimous agreement.

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