"A Souvenir of Seville" (80" x 40", Oil on Canvas) as it appears today. The original frame has been restored to its former glory.   "A Souvenir of Seville" as it appeared in 1926. The frame, designed and stenciled by the artist in Spanish Colonial style, eventually faded, necessitating conservation.          In 1926 Lukits received a commission to paint the young Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio. The artist told this site's author that the studio paid for the portrait, which was used as part of the publicity campaign for "Loves of Carmen." Del Rio was only twenty-one at the time and she insisted on being painted with her pet monkey, perhaps the only time in history that a simian has appeared in a formal portrait. Miss Del Rio was wearing a dress that she had made when she appeared in Seville, hence the title of the painting. The portrait was displayed at Lukits' exhibition at the famous Montmartre Cafe in 1926 and at a number of social occasions, and it was hung in the lobby of the Carthay Park Theater for the premier of the "Loves of Carmen." "A Souvenir of Seville" was reproduced in a number of Los Angeles newspapers, Spanish-language publications and even the Mexican media. The publicity from the commission helped to make Lukits a well-known name in Los Angeles and he garnered a great deal of exposure from the commission. The painting was donated to the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles and eventually sold at auction in Santa Monica in the 1950s. From there it went to a collection in Northern California's Gold Country. In recent years the painting was sold and is now in a private collection.   Thank you note from Dolores Del Rio to Theodore Lukits, October 1926 [enlarge image]     Article written by Dolores Del Rio about her experiences in Hollywood that appeared in the February 1928 issue of Theatre Magazine [enlarge image]   Article in The Broadway World (November 1926) with notice of Lukits' exhibition at the Montmartre Cafe [enlarge image]     Dolores Del Rio was in the process of making the film "Resurrection" when Theodore Lukits knew her. It was based on the book of the same name written by Count Leo Tolstoy. Rod La Rocque, Del Rio's co-star, became lifelong friends with Lukits.