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Virginia School Honors Long Island Painter This article appeared in Newsday on November 14, 2002

Names Hall as Thanks for Donated Artwork

By Bill Bleyer
Staff Writer

	Artist Mort Künstler (above, center) stands with Timber Ridge School students Allen Clayborn, 14 (left), and Brandon Thompson, 13, in front of the nearly completed Mort Künstler Hall, to be dedicated in March 2003.

Mort Künstler, one of the country's top painters of Civil War and other historical scenes, is a soft touch for charities.

"I'm always willing to help almost any charitable cause," said the Cove Neck resident with a history of donating artwork to historical and service groups.

Now one of those nonprofit causes is saying thanks in a concrete way.

The Timber Ridge School near Winchester, Va., which serves 90 boys with learning and behavioral difficulties, has named a new dormitory for the artist.

He traveled south Monday to see the almost completed Mort Künstler Hall for the first time. "I was overwhelmed," said the painter, who plans to return in March for the dedication. "It's a big log building and it's just beautiful. I felt very, very honored."

The honor was extended because for seven Christmases Künstler has allowed the school to use one of his Civil War images for a custom ornament. Those sales have generated $200,000, the largest source of charitable funds the 31-year-old school has received.

To show their gratitude, after ground was broken in March, the trustees named the 4,200-square-foot, $750,000 residence hall in Künstler's honor. The dormitory will house 16 students between the ages of 11 and 14. The hall also includes an auditorium, a Life Skills Training Center equipped with a full kitchen, and other facilities.

The Remember Me ornament from 2001.

Timber Ridge approached Künstler with the ornament idea because he is a popular figure in Winchester, which is steeped in Civil War history. Künstler has visited frequently to sign his work, and over the years a local bank, F & M Bank, purchased about a dozen of his paintings that relate to the area. The bank building, now owned by a foundation, next month will become a museum displaying the paintings along with local art and artifacts.

"When the school called," Künstler said, "I called a number of people in Winchester I know to check them out and heard very positive things. Their success rate is quite phenomenal."

"We design the ornaments in the fashion of the official White House ornament and do it at the same manufacturer," Künstler added. The limited editions - 7,500 for this year's "Confederate Winter" - sell for $23.50 through the school's website,
www.Timber-Ridge-School.org.

Troy Newbraugh, director of institutional development for the school, said that besides money, the ornaments have brought the school national visability.

Before touring his namesake building, the school's seventh residence hall, Künstler met two of the students who will be moving in at the beginning of next month. "They were very excited," he said. "They can't wait to get in."

Künstler's last large charity effort came after the World Trade Center attack, when he sold autographed prints of a painting of the American flag and raised almost $200,000 for the American Red Cross. In the past, he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Cedar Creek Battlefield in Virginia, Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument in Montana and other sites.

To learn more about the Timber Ridge School, visit www.Timber-Ridge-School.org.

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