Fabulous events take place across the Washington area every day, but few can place you at the intersection of fabulous art, the surgeon who saved President Reagan’s life, a best-selling author and the ability to save the lives of people across Guatemala. 

The Arts for Healing, a Partner for Surgery fundraiser, brings together all of these elements for a spectacular evening in Great Falls, VA on Saturday, April 30.

A memorable evening often begins in a beautiful setting, and this will be true of The Arts for Healing. Our event will take place on the banks of the Potomac River in Great Falls, at the home of Richard and Mary Kelly, amidst the art of The Kelly Collection of American Illustration.  The Collection is among the most extensive private collections in the United States of paintings and drawings from The Golden Age of American illustration.

The illustrations, commissioned for books and magazines between the 1880s and the 1930s, were the first visual mass media the world had known. Their impact and their influence on style and the popular imagination are comparable to that of the cinema and television that succeeded them. Guests will wander among works by Howard Pyle, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, Sarah Weber, and J.C. Leyendecker.

Guests will be treated to an assortment of delicious Latin American delicacies as well as white and sparkling wines as they explore the collection and the leafy grounds.

Music will be provided by an extraordinary young local conductor, Matthew Martz, and an accomplished string ensemble.

photo courtesy of Shamus Ian Fatzinger/Fairfax County Times

In keeping with the theme of The Arts for Healing, literature will be represented by Del Quentin Wilber, an award-winning reporter for The Washington Post, and author of Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan. The book, being released on March 15, gives a never-before-seen look at the events surrounding the attempt to assassinate President Reagan thirty years ago.  Del Quentin Wilber will be signing copies of his book.

The book details the role played by Dr. Joseph Giordano, Emeritus Professor of Surgery at George Washington University Medical Center and current Partner for Surgery Board member. Dr. Giordano headed the trauma team that saved the President’s life. Dr. Giordano will be on hand to discuss the role of volunteer surgery teams in Guatemala. Dr. Giordano led George Washington University's first surgical team to Guatemala in 2009 . It was such a positive experience that all 18 members of the team returned in 2010 and a second team was formed. This year three teams from George Washington University Medical School are planned.