From The New York Times, January 2, 2005 ..... The Other Atlantic CityEight of nine muddy charcoal portraits recovered from beneath an Atlantic City house in August have been restored, and will be unveiled at the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey in Newtonville on Jan. 2 at 3 p.m.The portraits, made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, depict a middle-class African-American family. They were unearthed at 704 Michigan Avenue by Ralph Hunter III, the museum’s director. The images of the well-dressed family have provided a vivid link to the hard-working African-American community that helped establish Atlantic City as an American playground. The discovery also sparked a search to identify the people in the portraits. Walter McClister, a genealogist who lives in Galloway, read of the find and used census data to tentatively confirm that the subjects were Jeremiah Pettijohn, a hotel bellhop, and his family, who lived at the address Avenue 70 years ago. Several of Pettijohn’s descendants plan to attend the unveiling, among them Alverta Pettijohn Slater, of McConnellsburg, Pa., who grew up in Atlantic City, and worked at City Hall until she retired. “The making of Atlantic City — black people had a part to play in this,” she said. “Maybe they didn’t always get the credit. This makes us so happy, and we share it with all the black people who had ever dreamed their dreams and worked hard in Atlantic City.” Earl K. Parker III of Williamstown, an artist, muralist and art restorer, whose grandparents and great-grandparents lived in Atlantic City, cleaned and restored the portraits. “I was taken aback because there was so much dirt and mud on them,” said Mr. Parker, who has also worked on Warhols and Whistlers. “It was like removing butter.” Referring to the more illustrious artists, he added: “Even though I work on these pieces, nothing is more important than family portraits. That is why I got into restoration.” Information: (609) 704-7262.
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