[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 5, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER HONORS INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN WILDLIFE ARTIST 
   JOHN A. RUTHVEN FOR RECEIVING THE 2004 NATIONAL MEDAL OF THE ARTS

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                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2005

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a dear friend and 
Brown County, Ohio constituent, John A. Ruthven, who will be honored on 
April 21, 2005 by the Cincinnati Museum Center in the regional 
recognition for his selection by President Bush to receive the 2004 
National Medal of the Arts. The National Medal of the Arts is the 
highest award presented to an artist or patron in the United States, 
and John is the first wildlife artist to receive this prestigious 
award. I was honored to join John and his wife, Judy, and members of 
their family at the White House for the medal presentation by President 
Bush on November 17, 2004.
  One of our nation's most talented artists, John is an author, 
lecturer, naturalist, and internationally acknowledged master of 
wildlife art. His paintings have been shown at the White House; the 
Hermitage Museum in Russia; the Ohio State Capitol's Rotunda; and many 
other prestigious venues around the world.
  John will be honored by the Museum Center for his career in art and 
his many connections to the Museum Center. I am told that, over the 
years, he has used actual specimens from the research collections of 
the Museum Center and one of its predecessor museums, the Cincinnati 
Museum of Natural History, as models for his original paintings. A 
special exhibit of selected Ruthven works at the Museum Center will 
open to the public on April 23, 2005--Earth Day. In the exhibit, 
several of Audubon's prints, including the Carolina parakeet, Henslow's 
sparrow, and Passenger pigeon, will be displayed with John's paintings 
of the same subjects, and the actual specimens from the Museum Center's 
collection. Three days later--April 26, 2005--is the 220th anniversary 
of John James Audubon's birth.
  The coincidence of Audubon's birthday is underscored by the fact that 
Audubon, too, had many connections to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural 
History. He was the Museum's first employee, hired as a taxidermist and 
to create exhibits. Audubon supplemented his Museum income by drawing 
portraits, teaching art, and even opened his own art academy. While in 
Cincinnati, Audubon created five paintings of local birds that were 
among the first contributions to his acclaimed Birds of North America.
  There can be no doubt that John Ruthven is our Audubon, and a true 
American treasure. John has said, ``I believe art is as necessary to 
our heritage as the history books. Both record past and present in the 
effort to educate and enrich the lives of people today and in the near 
future. It is my desire, through my paintings, to record for later 
generations some of the beauty of nature that exists in my lifetime.''
  John's wife, Judy, is also accomplished. She was project manager and 
co-chair of the Historic Georgetown Project to restore the Georgetown, 
Ohio courthouse square buildings. With John, she painstakingly restored 
the brick Brown County homestead of President Ulysses S. Grant, who 
grew up in picturesque Georgetown. Judy is a Grant scholar, and she 
spent a tremendous amount of energy to ensure that the building was 
historically accurate. The Ruthvens later donated the structure, which 
is on the National Register of Historic Places, to the State of Ohio. 
In addition, Judy has supported numerous other organizations, including 
the Ohio Humanities Council.
  All of us in Southern Ohio congratulate John on receiving the 
National Medal of the Arts, being honored by the Museum Center, and his 
life as an acclaimed artist, and we wish him luck in the many projects 
to come.




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