This week, Floral Giffuni (pictured at left with Urania Christy Tarbet and myself at the 34th annual "Pastels Only" awards dinner in 2006) will receive the prestigious Salmagundi Medal of Honor in recognition of her tremendous achievements as an artist and arts supporter. As both the founder of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and the patron of the Flora B. Giffuni Gallery for Pastels at the Butler Institute of American Art, Giffuni has been a tireless champion for pastel. Explaining, in a June 2007 feature in The Pastel Journal, the motivation for creating a national pastel society back in 1972, Giffuni said: "I realized how few people knew or respected pastel. It became my life's mission to do something about correcting the problem."

Claudia Seymour, President of the Salmagundi Club, will award the medal to Giffuni at the Club's President's Dinner on April 23rd. Rae Smith, President of PSA; Jimmy Wright, PSA treasurer; and O. Alden James, president of the National Arts Club, will offer tributes.

Please join me in congratulating Ms. Giffuni on this tremendous honor. It is certain that the current positioning of pastel in today's art world would not look the same had it not been for her efforts. If you would like to write a note of congratulations, you can send it c/o the Pastel Society of America, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003.

Three Faces (pastel, 18x24) by Flora Giffuni