by LEN LEAR

“A portrait at its best should be a poem full of space and reverie.”----poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

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Even people who never had any courses in the history of art are familiar with the name Rembrandt. The quintessential Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn died 334 years ago, but he is still universally regarded as the archetypal portrait painter.

The warm coloring in his later portraits in particular — with brown and golden tones dominant — and his brushwork in general developed with a breadth and expressiveness that penetrated far beyond the surface to the souls of his subjects. Their deepest emotions became almost transparent.

Some will regard it as a hyperbole — and I certainly make no claims to art expertise beyond those of an educated layman — but when I look at the portraits of acclaimed Mt. Airy artist Paul DuSold, I see some of the qualities that have made Rembrandt an icon for centuries: the rich yet subdued color harmonies, the firm yet unobtrusive compositional structure and the vigorous yet subtle brushwork.

DuSold, 39, who looks more like a buttoned-down corporate executive than a reclusive artist, has exhibited in group and individual shows in numerous galleries and museums in the tri-state area including Woodmere in Chestnut Hill, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia Sketch Club, Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Gross-McCleaf Gallery, Port of History Museum, etc., as well as galleries in San Francisco, North Carolina, Massachusetts and elsewhere.

His commissioned portraits of VIPs can be seen on the walls of many of the area’s major institutions, such as the Franklin Institute, Jefferson Medical School, Graduate Hospital, Mellon Bank, the Union League of Philadelphia, the American College of Physicians, Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co., Pennsylvania Hospital, Wyoming Seminary and many others.

According to Edmund Bacon, former Philadelphia city planner who sat for a DuSold portrait (he is also the father of movie actor Kevin Bacon), “Paul DuSold has a marvelously broad perspective on what he is doing. He is rediscovering the essence of what made art great in ages past. His paintings will last long after many things that go by the name of art today have blown away.”

A resident of Mt. Airy for 10 years who rides a bicycle from his home near Carpenter’s Woods to his studio in center city, Paul was born in Chicago. His family moved to California, where he lived for 12 years, and then to the mountains in North Carolina. He admits he was an “underachieving student” who painted as a hobby but did not know one other person who painted.

While a teenager in North Carolina, Paul met two people who had attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and who encouraged him to enroll there. “I figured I’d go to art school until I decided what I really wanted to do with my life. . . I started by painting acrylics and drawing from magazines and from the cover of National Geographic. I had hated high school and at art school was fully engaged for the first time.”

DuSold, who graduated from PAFA in 1985, was particularly inspired by one teacher there, Arthur DeCosta, now 82, with whom he still communicates regularly. DeCosta once painted a celebrated portrait of the late Mayor Frank Rizzo, and he continues to paint today. In fact, there will be a retrospective of his works next spring at Woodmere.

“He (DeCosta) had an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional painting and insights that were brilliant,” said Paul. “I wanted a fundamental education, but there was so much b.s. in some classrooms that I had blinkers on. You had models wearing crazy outfits and really bad lighting. I almost left the Academy, but Arthur said, ‘Don’t leave!’ He told me to go to certain teachers and pick their brains.

“As a result, I’ve been picking his brain for 20 years. He’s a real mentor, so influential in my life. My work is like his. You learn by imitation, although that concept was anathema in the 20th century. You were supposed to draw your ‘inner child’ and close your eyes to the muse, but if you do that, after a while the muse stops talking to you.

“(At the Academy) many were afraid that people would notice their influences, which is ridiculous. If you look at some of the greatest painters like Titian and Raphael, you will see their works look like the works of their teachers, but they also developed their own identities. At one time you were supposed to copy the master, but now almost no one does that.”

Like most creative professionals, even those who achieve significant material success and recognition, DuSold was hardly an overnight sensation. After graduating from art school, he worked as a security guard, a laborer for a home moving company and a house painter. In between these jobs, he painted furiously and often tried to persuade area galleries to exhibit his works — with zero results.

But one day he received an unsolicited call from Robert Wilder, an advertising executive and board member at PAFA who, based on favorable comments he had heard at PAFA about DuSold’s work, hired the Mt. Airy artist to paint a portrait that wound up on a wall at the Union League headquarters. This led to similar commissions, and now four DuSold portraits hang at the Union League. Another recent commission was of Wolfgang Sawallisch upon his retirement as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The average price for a portrait is about $15,000. If possible, the subject sits six to eight times, about two hours each time. About 20 percent of DuSold’s portraits are done posthumously, however, based on photographs. He has also done many pet portraits or of people with their pets. Paul is happy that most work comes unsolicited since, “like most artists, I am no good at promoting myself.”

Paul’s wife of 10 years, Sharon (nee Doerner), is a fine art photographer whose most frequent subject is the Wissahickon Valley. She teaches at the University City Arts League. Paul has taught art classes at Woodmere and four other art centers in the Delaware Valley. The couple have one daughter, Olivia, 7, who attends Germantown Friends School. Paul has a sister, Michelle, 37, who also lives in Mt. Airy and two other sisters who live in Cincinnati and North Carolina, respectively.

“I’m very fortunate because I have what I always wanted,” said DuSold. “I love our house and neighborhood. I love the studio I paint in, the students I work with and the community of artists here in Philadelphia. I don’t need fame and riches. Of course, I would like the quality and reputation of my work to grow. It’s like bringing children into the world. If they do well, you’re happy, and once they’re out in the world, they are not yours anymore. Just like my paintings.”

For more information, call 215-629-0522 or visit www.pauldusold.com.