Artist hopes to settle portraits in home country

It would not be a surprise if the Korean artist Suh Jeong-in, 52, said he felt that Nebraska is more like home than Seoul. It was, after all, in that Midwestern U.S. state that the portrait artist received so much help as a 24-year-old heart patient.

Born with ventricular septal defect, Suh was so weak that he had to drop out of high school. Having no other horizons to explore, he decided to make a living out of painting, which he had always been good at, and moved to the United States to get a proper education.

Even then, he did not know that the disease was so deadly.

While attending Hastings College in Nebraska, he went to the doctor because of a sore ear and discovered his threatening heart situation. Doctors said that he had only a year left at best if he did not undergo surgery.

Suh's father, however, was unable to pay for the operation and the family had no medical insurance to cover the procedure either. Worse still, as a member of Jehovah's Witness, Suh was unable to accept a blood transfusion.

Not wanting to lose one of his most talented students, Richard Brink, a Hastings art professor, started a fund to help pay Suh's surgery expenses.

The local newspaper reported the story and one by one TV stations and national wire services picked it up and spread it throughout the nation.

"People sent me donations from all over, with heartfelt letters and newspaper clippings attached, (including from) the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Texas Chronicle," Suh said.

Dr. Denton Cooley, an internationally-known heart surgeon famed for operations without using transfusions, also heard the story and volunteered to perform surgery on Suh for free. A wealthy resident of the area took care of Suh's ride to the hospital on his private jet.

"Can you imagine? It was such a warm welcome for a foreigner. Being cared for by so many people, I had gained the courage to live in the States," Suh said.

Through the love and care he received, Suh soon recovered and his career started to grow.

He compensated Cooley by painting him his portrait, and commissions and offers soon poured in.

"When I was working at my art school, an old man occasionally came and peered into my paintings over my shoulder. I just assumed that he must be some lonely man. But one day he invited me to lunch, and I was stunned to find out that he was George Gray, a member of the oldest art club in the United States," Suh said.

With Gray supporting him, Suh joined the Society of Illustrators and also met the chance to paint former U.S. president Ronald Reagan's portrait.

"A friend of the Gray was Kipp Soldwedel, the well known marine artist. It was him who was originally requested by the National Republican Committee to paint Reagan's portrait. But after seeing my portfolio Soldwedel recommended me instead, saying that I would do a better job," Suh said.

So it was the portrait by Suh that was used during the 1984 presidential campaign.

"President Reagan liked the portrait so much that he signed it and personally sent copies to me and my parents in Korea," Suh said, showing the signed and framed duplicate.

Among the hundreds of portraits Suh has painted, many of them were of high-profile figures like Reagan.

Suh, however, maintains that he never really thinks of how important his subjects are while he paints them.

"This is the portrait of Patricia Schroeder, who was a U.S. Congresswoman. But to me, she was just like any old friendly neighbor. If the artist is cowed in front of someone famous, he cannot fully express his artistic skills. I just think of them as another regular person, like me," Suh said.

Two years ago, the lucky artist returned home for good. The country to which his grandfather Suh Dong-jin - a well-known artist and former Korean assemblyman - had first introduced Western painting, however, did not greet him so warmly.

"Koreans still don't have much passion for portraits, unlike Americans who like to hang them in their living rooms." Suh said.

He has been knocking on the doors of several galleries and museums, but they have responded rather coolly.

"It seems like Koreans are into contemporary art right now. I understand, my paintings are not so shocking compared to those. Classical music would not be so attractive if you are so used to rock and roll," Suh said.

But he hopes that Korea will gradually learn to enjoy portraits. As one of the few portrait artists in Korea, Suh aims to lead the shift in taste.

"A person's information is limited in photos. They tell you only about your looks and nothing more. A portrait, on the other hand, is your picture painted by another man, not a machine. It is a way to see one's self through something that has a human touch," Suh said.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young