Gallery to display Brown painting at Gallery Walk

Family and friends look over New York-based artist Jonathan Stasko’s Adam Brown tribute painting, which will be on display at Whittington Gallery this Gallery Walk. - Submitted photo
Family and friends look over New York-based artist Jonathan Stasko’s Adam Brown tribute painting, which will be on display at Whittington Gallery this Gallery Walk. - Submitted photo

After a monthslong delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a painting of U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Adam Lee Brown will be shown to the public at Whittington Gallery during Friday's Gallery Walk.

Brown was a Lake Hamilton alumnus who was killed in action in Afghanistan on March 17, 2010. New York-based artist Jonathan Stasko created a painting in memory of Brown, and had intended to unveil it in March at the 10th Annual Adam Brown Shamrock Run, but was canceled at the last minute due to the pandemic.

Rachel Mundy, the event's coordinator, said that Stasko had emailed her that he had read the book about Brown -- "Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown" -- beforehand.

"Its effect was immediately transformative to me and has continued to inspire and motivate me literally on a daily basis. It would be difficult to overstate the impact it has had and the inspiration I have felt from his testimony," Stasko said in the email and noted he paints "portraits of fallen heroes for their heroic families."

"Last spring I reached out to Larry and Janice Brown to share my vision for a commemorative, narrative portrait of Adam providing shoes to Afghan children for the purpose of fulfilling my more recently developed and aforementioned calling to portray American heroes to the public," Stasko said. "They responded with support and I have pursued this project in stages since that time."

Mundy said Stasko rented a box truck back in March and drove the painting to Lake Hamilton for the 5K. While the race was canceled, they were allowed to have a small gathering at Lake Hamilton's Wolf Arena, where Stasko unveiled the painting for a small group that largely consisted of friends and family members of Brown.

Stasko returned to New York, but left the painting with Mundy. "He tasked me to find places to (show) it" to the public," she said. However, due to the pandemic, she has been unable to do so, and the painting has sat in the alumni room at Lake Hamilton for the past few months.

Mundy originally had many ideas of places she could take the painting to. "All these events that didn't happen," she said.

Recently, Mundy said she was in downtown Hot Springs and noticed people walking around again. "There's a lot of people downtown. Is Gallery Walk still going on?" she said.

She subsequently contacted John Faginkrantz, owner of Whittington Gallery, and asked if the painting could be displayed there.

"He was glad to allow us to have it in the gallery," she said. "That's going to give people a chance to see it."

The painting shows Brown giving shoes to an Afghan child, Mundy said, noting Brown often gave shoeless kids in Afghanistan shoes, and since his death, they have held a shoe drive each year.

"I like that it's him and one child," Mundy said about the painting. "Not a production or a big show."

She noted that was "very much who he was."

Mundy hopes to be able to keep the painting on display at Whittington Gallery until at least Veterans Day. She said Stasko has left the painting with her for one year, and that it will be on display at the 2021 Adam Brown Shamrock Run.

That 5K will be held on March 13, 2021, and Mundy said COVID-19 or not, the event will happen. She said they are looking into ways to hold the event virtually if they are not able to hold the event in person.

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