ENTERTAINMENT of Design in New York, "an endowed school, because we didn't have too much money." After several terms of drawing and painting classes, Gothelf was able to support himself as a com- mercial artist. "I hated the commercial work, but I had to eat;' he recalls. Joining his family, who had moved to Toledo, the young fellow was hired as a scenic ar- tist's assistant at a nearly theater. After a year, Gothelf remembers, his boss was suddenly fired one night in the midst of preparations for a major production. The job of completing four sets and two drops fell to the fledgl- ing artist, who was not yet 20. More than 60 years later he can still hear the audience applause at the close of opening night for his first set designs. After assignments with dramatic stock companies from Milwaukee to The Gothelfs will open an exhibit of their work at the Rubiner Gallery Sept. 18. Cleveland to New York, Gothelf took up residence in Chicago as a scenic designer for the Chicago Civic Opera Co. He worked as a set designer in Chicago from 1925 to 1939, but "I always preferred getting up there with a paint brush." Of his WPA assignments during the war years, Gothelf recalls: "That's when the leading lady and the stage hands got the same salary." Gothelf remembers selling his first painting for $25 in 1917, a por- trait of Sholom Aleichem. He con- tinued to paint, but with a wife and two young daughters, the couple JUDY MARX sought additional income. Things Special to The Jewish News were "still lean" when they decided to purchase a hotel in East Chicago, coming exhibit as "a tribute to painting, Gothelf says. Actually 13-year-old Gothelf had Ind., a very successful enterprise for Shwayder and Gothelfs long commit- ment to art and to the personal vision not thought much about art until he more than a decade. Throughout this period Gothelf that has shaped their individual immigrated to Brooklyn with his mother and sisters, and one day hap- exhibited many of his works, receiv- thinking and perception." In the early 1900's Gothelf was a pened to notice an artist painting in ed numerous awards for his portraits youngster in Vitebsk, Russia, who en- a window. "Now I said to myself, 'This and landscapes and accepted many important commissions. A GOthelf joyed the company of a pal who later is very interesting.' " Following high school, the youth, portrait of former President Jimmy signed his paintings with the name Marc Chagall. At that time they were' who had now begun to draw as a hob- Carter is now in the archives of the more interested in swimming than by, enrolled in the National Academy Carter Library. His paintings have Bob McKeown W hen Reva Shwayder and Louis Gothelf decided for- mally to join their lives a year ago, they created a very special union. Despite the fact that the pair of octogenarians will tease each other in friendly banter over subjects ranging from art to religion, theirs is a bond which is sealed by a characteristic calm that has emerged from more than 170 , years of combined experience. Their unique relationship is as apparent to those who know Shwayder and Gothelf as serious artists, as it is to friends and family whose lives have been brushed by Reva and Lou. So special did Lou's daughter, film maker Sue Marx, view the pairing that she decided to document their courtship, wedding and personal glimpses into their lives in Young At Heart. The film is one of four documentaries to be shown at the prestigious New York Film Festival next month. "Of course, we're going to be there," says Gothelf, bursting with fatherly pride. Packing up and taking off are as much a part of the couple's routine as are the hours they spend daily in their art studio. Approximately 40 paintings, which have emerged from that workshop since the couple met three years ago, will be on display beginn- ing Sept. 18 at the Rubiner Gallery in West Bloomfield. Gothelfs watercolor landscapes and portraits are easily distinguishable from Mrs. Gothelfs acrylic abstracts and still lifes. "But we do not plan to separate them in the exhibit;' says Gallery Manager David Roberts. "Although we have exhibited the works of other husbands and wives before, it is rare to find an artist couple who are both so productive in their mid-80s." Carole Rubiner, who together with husband Allen own and direct the Rubiner Gallery, sees the forth- Young At Heart Reva Shwayder Gothelf and Louis Gothelf stay youthful by pursuing their artistic interests GOING PLACES WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 11 - 17 MUSIC Maple-Drake Branch, Louis Nagel, 3:30 p.m. Sunday. SPECIAL EVENTS PINE KNOB MUSIC THEATRE George Benson, 8 p.m. Saturday, admission. CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF DETROIT Orchestra Hall, Detroit, Guarneri String Quartet and The Beaux Arts Trio, 8 p.m. today and Saturday, admission, 833-3700. JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER Jimmy Prentis Morris Branch, 15110 W. 10 Mile Rd., Oak Park, Michigan Light Opera Company, 2 p.m. Sunday, admission, 967-4030. MICHIGAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Dixie Highway between Pontiac and Flint, one mile north of Mt. Holly, Inc., Holly, drama, mimes, magicians, crafts, games, food, Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 27, admission, 645-9640. DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Brunch With Bach, 10 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, admission, 832-2730. JULIUS CHAJES MUSIC FUND CONCERT SERIES Jewish Community Center, THEATER SHAW FESTIVAL Niagara-On-The-Lake, _ Ontario, Peter Pan, now until Oct. 11, Fanny's First Play, now until Sept. 27, and Night Of Jan. 16th, now until Sept. 27, (416)468-2172. DOWNTOWN DINNER THEATER Veterans Memorial Building banquet hall, They're Playing Our. Song, presented by Jimmy Launce Productions, cocktails 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., curtain at 8:45 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, admission, reservations, 224-6000. HENRY FORD MUSEUM Greenfield Village, Dearborn, My Sister Eileen, 8:30 p.m. today and Saturday, admission, 271-1620. FISHER THEATRE Fisher Building, Detroit, Arsenic and Old Lace, 8 p.m. now through Sept. 27, admission, 872-1000. GREAT LAKES DINNER PLAYHOUSE Continued on Page 65 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 63