OIL PAINTING BY NEW JERSEY ARTIST
ACCEPTED BY MDA ART COLLECTION

"Sledding on Hillcrest"

TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 11, 2003 — Many childhood memories are attached to “Sledding on Hillcrest” by the late William Titus of Watchung, N.J. His oil painting has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection. Now in its 12th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

“Sledding on Hillcrest” is a memorable piece, depicting teenagers sledding on a local road in the 1940s and 1950s, and showing a simplicity of life and the joy of nature. Several paintings by Titus, who died in 2002 at age 69, are permanently on display at Watchung Police Station.

An avid outdoorsman, Titus began painting in 1995 after his inclusion-body myositis forced him to retire from Titus Land Surveying, founded and operated by Titus himself and passed on to his sons. After having volunteered for many years in the Watchung Fire Department, in the company founded by his grandfather, Titus was elected fire chief at age 45, shortly after he began showing symptoms of IBM.

IBM is a slowly progressive inflammatory and degenerative muscle disease characterized by muscle weakness that causes difficulty in grasping objects, rising from a seated position, climbing stairs and walking for long distances.

“We’re deeply honored to welcome William Titus’ work into the permanent MDA Art Collection,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “His contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection.”

The new addition by Titus will be displayed at MDA’s national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and has been selected as one of MDA’s 2003 Holiday Wishes cards. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection comprises some 300 works by artists aged 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children’s Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains clinics for northern New Jersey adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison and UMDNJ-University Hospital in Newark.

The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.