Famous Faces At Southampton Historical Museum

In the early morning hours of Friday, April 29, artist Zita Davisson was not one of almost 2 billion people tuned into the Royal Wedding.

Instead, she watched coverage later that evening with 10 friends in Manhattan, and then worked on her present for Prince William and Kate Middleton: a portrait drawn from nine unpublished photographs of the newlyweds that she plans to give to them on their first anniversary.

But first, it will be unveiled at the Southampton Historical Museum on Tuesday, June 28, as part of Ms. Davisson’s “Famous Faces” exhibition.

The portrait is not a random act of artistry, Ms. Davisson explained during an interview at the Southampton Historical Museum earlier this month. Both William and his brother, Henry, sat for her when they were children, as did their mother, Princess Diana.

“Princess Diana is my number one favorite, and the boys are my number two favorite because they were both so charming and lovely,” she said, noting that the two earlier portraits were not available for her show at the museum here in Southampton because they are in private collections.

Ms. Davisson clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, surveying the walls that hold a mere fraction of her portrait collection, which boasts thousands of performers, politicians and royal families, as well as her own family members.

“I never didn’t paint,” she recalled, strolling through the gallery. “And when I am, I look for the personality. I always find some very interesting features in people.”

For Liza Minnelli’s portrait, it was simple. Painting her backstage in the 1970s between takes of “Cabaret,” Ms. Davisson honed in on the actress’s strong suit.

“The face, you just can’t go wrong with that face,” she said. “I don’t think anybody else looks like that. She’s got those great big eyes and she’s very special. Very vivacious, very lively, very amusing.”

Typically, after Ms. Davisson is commissioned, she said she holds three sittings for her subjects while also sketching them on her own time. Many she’s painted in her Manhattan studio, including Muhammad Ali, who sat for her when he was at the absolute height of his career.

She portrayed him as an artist, seated with a can of paintbrushes to his right and his own painting of Africa at his back.

“He gave me a lithograph of it, which I still have,” Ms. Davisson said. “And oh, he was brilliant. Very, very sharp. Very literary. Very intelligent. Very quick.”

Ms. Davisson paused and turned to see gallery visitor Frances Witman of Port Jefferson patiently waiting for an autograph.

“Fabulous, they’re all so beautiful,” Ms. Witman said outside the museum. “This was my birthday trip, and I didn’t know what would be in the gallery section. This was a very nice surprise.”

Her companion, Elliott Goldstein of Smithtown, nodded in agreement.

“I enjoyed the Muhammad Ali portrait,” he said. “I think it captured him in his youth. He looked relaxed and vibrant, and when you see him today, he’s the vestige of a world champion.”

Ms. Davisson, who has a second home in Southampton and an apartment in Manhattan, said that because she routinely throws out her books every seven or eight years, she has a hard time pinpointing the exact dates of each portrait. But she said that she’ll never forget the time she painted actor Christopher Reeve.

“I finished the portrait a week before his terrible accident,” she said. “It’s such a sad thing. I worked with him for several months, and he left his shirt with me for that. He said it was his good luck shirt. And then he’s seated on my chair, which is in my studio. He’s absolutely charming, couldn’t be nicer and a very serious actor.”

Her subjects are usually at ease, Ms. Davisson said, which can sometimes work to her disadvantage.

For example, painting former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in his office was Ms. Davisson’s first mistake, she said. His phone wouldn’t stop ringing.

“It was, I suppose, the first portrait after he was elected,” she said. “He was a fascinating guy. I mean, really, just sitting at his desk and listening to him talk, it all just made sense. I think he did his very best job.

“With him, it was all about the smile and those laughing eyes, you know,” she continued. “He’s very easy to get along with when he’s off the phone.”

She said that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was a talker, too, especially with his hands, which are cupped together in the portrait she painted of him.

“A lot of people say, ‘What do you think his hands are saying?’ And I say, ‘I think he’s talking about the world,’” Ms. Davisson said. “His voice is enough to make you absolutely spellbound. He just goes on and on and on. Ah, yes, he was talking about the world and financial matters and all of these things, which for artists, they’re not very up on. All the important stuff.”

But the one portrait that really shines in Ms. Davisson’s memory is that of Princess Diana.

“I met her at a charity party in London, and I think she’d seen [Son Altesse Sérénissime Princess Grace of Monaco’s] portrait, so she knew my name and we had a conversation, which was very nice,” Ms. Davisson recalled of her initial contact with Princess Diana. “She said she liked my work, and I said, ‘I’d love to paint you,’ and she said, ‘Oh, that would be lovely.’ So I did it when I was still there.”

Two years later, she painted William and Henry, who was sitting on his rocking horse for the portrait.

“When I did the boys, I said to her, ‘Now when are we going to do the next picture of the boys?’” Ms. Davisson said. “And she said, ‘When William gets married.’ So here we are.”

“Famous Faces,” a retrospective of portraits by Zita Davisson, will be on display at the Southampton Historical Museum through September 3. The portrait of the young royal couple—Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge—will be unveiled on Tuesday, June 28. Museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org.