Theodore Lukits painting the young actress Marguerite Chapman (1918-1999) for a demonstration at the University Club about 1942. Chapman was then a young ingenue who was in "You're in the Army Now" and "Navy Blues." She went on to the "Seven Year Itch" and "Bloodhounds of Broadway." The demonstration portrait is now in the collection of the Jonathan Art Foundation.   The Painters and Sculptors Club was a major Southland art organization that was founded in 1923. It had annual exhibitions hosted by Los Angeles galleries, in this case Stendahl, one of the most established Los Angeles dealers.     "Gesture" was a sensual portrait of Eleanor Merriam Lukits, the artist's first wife. This work is now in the collection of the Jonathan Art Foundation. [click to see list of paintings from inside brochure]   Theodore Lukits, seated fourth from left at, A.G. Ryder's birthday party at Hollywood's Florentine Gardens, August 28, 1941. The California painter A.G. Ryder and his wife were close friends of Theodore and Eleanor Lukits. The artists and their wives socialized together and Lukits painted a portrait of Ryder's stepson James Bethe upon his return from the Pacific, where he served in the island campaigns with the United States Marines. Lukits and Ryder painted together in the 1930s and 1940s when Lukits ventured south to Laguna Beach, where the Ryders lived.   Theodore Lukits' portrait of Mrs. Ray Milland (Connie), 1942   In 1942 Theodore Lukits recieved a commission from the actor Ray Milland (1907-1986) to paint his wife Constance - or "Mal" - Milland's (c. 1910-1992) portrait. She had been painted by a well-known French portrait painter, but, self-conscious about her prominent overbite, Mrs. Milland had the artist deaccentuate it and the resulting portrait was a poor likeness. As a result, Milland commissioned another portrait from Lukits, who was well known in the Hollywood community. When she sat for Lukits at his studio Mrs. Milland was not allowed to look at the portrait, and did not see the painting intil its completion.     Clippings from the Los Angeles Times and Herald-Examiner, June 1942 [enlarge image] After the portrait was finished, the Millands hosted a major party for its unveiling with many of the major Hollywood stars in attendance.             Invitation for unveiling party, Sunday, June 1, 1942.                       Ray Milland with his wife's portrait [enlarge image]   Ray Milland and his wife Mal playing backgammon underneath her portrait. "Mal's hobby is combing the antique stores in San Francisco for additions to their home." - Movies Magazine, September 1942                                     more 1940s archive material on page 2                                 Thumbnail color study for portrait of Mal Milland (Lukits Art Trust)