Alexander Newley

On Oct. 3rd, 1995 OJ Simpson was formally acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a trial that rocked America.  After the verdict Dominick Dunne, who had been covering the case for Vanity Fair, went on primetime TV and declared that OJ was guilty and had 'blood on his hands'--a view which immediately cost him four death threats.

I went to paint his portrait the day after at the Chateau Marmont hotel where he had been staying during his year-long coverage of the dramatic trial.  His room was a sight: collapsing book piles, snowdrifts of paper, fax machines beeping and belching paper – while the phone rang incessantly. He damned the intrusions, fearing another death threat; so we agreed that he should tell reception to hold all calls, or our two hours together would be a washout. He welcomed the excuse to cut off, and noticeably relaxed. I found that the only area for painting was in the kitchenette, where I could have enough space and light. I moved the breakfast table to the wall, and he asked if he could sit at it and work on his jury notes while I continued to set up. I agreed, and immediately saw the pose I was looking for: a man at boiling point, chasing a fugitive sense of justice with his pen.

The portrait that resulted graced the cover of Dunne's subsequent novel about the trial: Another City, Not my Own, achieving widespread exposure all over America.

Creator of such classics as Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity and Stalag 17, Billy Wilder is a giant of cinema’s golden age.  I met him in LA in the mid nineties, where he sat to me for a portrait—a milestone in my career as an artist.

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