PEORIA, Ill. – Something that’s long overdue.
That’s how Peoria Riverfront Museum Executive Director John Morris describes the museum-commissioned portrait of late comedian and Peoria native Richard Pryor that’s on display at the museum as of Tuesday, after being unveiled Monday at Peoria’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day luncheon.
“(It is) embraced by a staff and board and community, the first time Richard Pryor has a commissioned portrait by this institution, and in many ways formally by the community, and it’s about time,” said Morris.
The portrait by local artist Jonathon Romain is called “Invictus,” and will be on display in the museum’s lobby.
“(It is) not Richard Pryor, but Richie, who he was as a younger person…I see all that,” said Richard Pryor, Jr., Richard’s son. “It makes me happy…it’s not like just any other portrait – a picture that you see, but it’s actually a portrait. It’s actually someone’s interpretation, and (Romain) captured it very well.”
Pryor, Jr. says he’s proud of what he’s seen happen to Peoria as it’s transitioned from a place that wouldn’t even accept a performance from his dad with the Peoria Civic Center when it first opened, to a place now that has, among other things, a diverse city council.
Comments