Bull - A Portrait


Benjamin Donald McCready is an American Master Artist residing in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Ben was the personal choice of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford for their official portraits. He is the leading painter in the world of corporate executives with over 400 clients in 15 countries.

Ben first contacted me on January 5, 1997. He had seen a photo of a Can Can legs corkscrew in Traditional Home magazine and inquired of my interest in it. Little did we know that it would result in a commission for a portrait on the occasion of my 25th employment anniversary with Goodway Technologies. Our first obstacle to overcome was the thought of a traditional portrait with a serious looking person simply sitting in a chair or standing at attention. We agreed that we needed some action and what could be more appropriate than a bottle of wine and a corkscrew.

It has been a lot of fun working with Ben on the portrait for the past year. The unfinished portrait was made available for my retirement party. It will now go back to Wisconsin for some finishing touches. I'll post the final version on this page when available......

The finished portrait arrived January 20, 1998. Do you know what is in my hand - it is pictured at right above?

It is the only one known and it is Read's Coaxer. Marked READ'S COAXER 4 PARLIAMENT ST. Wood handle mounted on brass. Ivory plaque with crest inlaid in handle. Thomas Read was a cutler in Dublin in the 18th century. This corkscrew is c. 1790. Previous owners: Ted Weinberg and
Leon Stark

Visit the artist's home page at: http://www.benmccready.com


email: corkscrew@bullworks.net

Visit The Virtual Corkscrew Museum


©1997 Donald A. Bull