PBS Correspondent Opens Political Gallery

Veteran PBS and Washington Post foreign correspondent Charles Krause opened his first gallery this past weekend in Washington, D.C., combining his interest in politics with a lifelong passion for art collecting. Charles Krause/Reporting Fine Art will focus primarily on artists whose work reflects social or political events during the 20th and 21st centuries.

The inaugural show, "Solidarnosc," features the work of Polish artist Jerzy Janiszewski, whose red-lettered, graffiti-like logo spelling out "Solidarity" became an icon for freedom from Communist rule in Poland during the early 1980s. While the print of the original poster itself will not be available for purchase, other hand drawn and historic graphic imprints of the logo signed by the Janiszewski, will indeed be for sale. They are not from Krause's collection.

On his website, Krause credits his specific concentration in political art to his career, where he had the opportunity to discover "the extraordinary power and often haunting beauty of the art of protest, propaganda and political change while covering the wars and revolutions of Central America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East."

Other works in Krause's collection of paintings and drawings include that of Cuban artist Roberto Favelo, and Soviet propaganda posters he obtained while working as an advisor to Russian prisoner and rumored political victim Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

"Solidarnosc" will be on view at Charles Krause/Reporting Fine Art through Jan. 22, by appointment only. The show will be open to the public on Saturday Dec. 17 and Sunday, Dec. 18 from noon to 6 p.m.