First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte has long claimed to be the site of the largest funeral in North Carolina's history, some 10,000 people were on hand to see Mrs. Stonewall Jackson's service. Soon, however, First Presbyterian will be able to add another impressive fact to its resume.

 

In October, world-renowned and part-time North Carolina resident Benjamin Franklin Long IV will begin work on his fifth fresco for the Queen City. Upon completion, First Presbyterian will join St. Peter's Church, the lobby of Bank of America Corporate Center, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Law Enforcement Center and the dome at Transamerica Square as members in the elite fraternity of locations which house Mr. Long's frescoes.

 

Charles Kapsner, who has worked with Mr. Long on his four previous frescoes in town, calls Mr. Long a dynamic individual with a wealth of information. SouthPark Luxury Living magazine contributor Hardee Bass had a chance to find that out when he interviewed the elusive Mr. Long, who was with his family in the south of France, via phone on July 25.

 

S. P.: Many citizens of Charlotte have seen your work throughout town, but many may not know exactly what fresco is. Could you put it in laymen's terms?

 

B. F. L.: It's an ancient form of painting, probably the oldest. It has to do with very natural bindings of pigment and water painted on a wet, lime surface. When the lime dries, usually in eight to 12 hours, it absorbs the pigment into the wall, creating fresco. Essentially, it is not painting on the wall, it is the wall.

 

S. P.: The conflict in Vietnam is a touchy subject. Would you mind telling us a little bit about your experience there?

 

B. F. L.: By leaving the University of North Carolina early to begin studying at the Art Student's League of New York, it opened up the possibility of being drafted. This became my reality after only one year in New York. At the time, I had a studio in Little Italy and a cowboy sculptor named Harry Jackson had a studio beneath mine. Harry served in the Combat Art Program as a Marine during World War II. So Harry said, "There is no point in wasting your talent. Why don't you join up and I'll work it out where you can be a combat artist."

He and a Colonel Henri set it up where I could join for a regular two-year tour of duty. Henri said, "All you have to do is go to Parris Island and then you'll be an artist." It didn't work out like that. At about that time, the war really started becoming a war and they didn't have any special indication for combat art. I had to be something, so I took these exams and qualified for the Officer Candidacy Course and became an officer. I went over to Vietnam and spent the next 17 months as an infantry officer before any sort of change. So, for the last four or five months of my tour, I became head of the Combat Art Team. The Combat Art Team consisted of myself and four others. Being slightly hardened by 17 months of combat, I decided to change the program a bit. These guys were sitting comfortably back in Da Nang, so I said, "Enough of this! You are here to record the exploits of your fellow Marines." So I set up a plan where everyone would go into the bush for a week and then come back for two weeks to work up their drawings. We were able to turn out quite a body of work.

 

S. P.: Is that when you decided you wanted to pursue art?

 

B. F. L.: Well, I met a correspondent my last few months in Vietnam and I told him about this artist who I had seen in a book in New York. His name was Pietro Annigoni and he lived in Florence, Italy. The correspondent made a few calls and found Annigoni's number. So I eventually got in touch with Annigoni and I became his apprentice. It was an equivocal moment because I hadn't really had any real art training.

 

S. P.: Who are your biggest supporters in Charlotte?

 

B. F. L.: Well, around 1972, I was introduced to Ann McKenna and Eleanor Carson. At the time, they owned Carson-McKenna Gallery, which was an antique shop where they also used to show artwork. I also met Kitty Gaston then. So when I was introduced to them, through a mutual friend, I showed them some of the work I was doing in Florence. It was a few drawings and portrait paintings. So they bought some of them. Then they got me some portrait commissions, which sustained me for years. Through their efforts, I got the St. Peter's fresco. Clayton and Anne Lineberger, too. I met Clayton when we were both youngsters at Chapel Hill. During the time I was living in Europe, Clayton and I renewed our friendship. When I started work on St. Peter's, Clayton and Anne very generously offered for me to stay at their house. So from then on, whenever I came to Charlotte to work on frescoes, I stayed with them. As for people who were true supporters, Hugh McColl comes as close as any. He was friends of both Ann and Kitty and helped finance St. Peter's. Around that time, he was financing the big corporate center and he wanted frescoes for the lobby. Hugh and I were friends long before he became the big wheel, so to speak. Years ago, I was living in a little village in France that was nearly impossible to find. Hugh said he could find it. So one day I was coming back from the market and I looked up from the street and there was Hugh, hanging out my balcony window. So Hugh has always been a tremendous supporter. We were both Marines, so we have that bond as well.

 

S. P.: There is quite a unique story behind your fresco at the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Law Enforcement Center, isn't there?

 

B. F. L.: That was an odd one, I have to admit. It was odd because they had something of a competition. I was in France at the time, so the person who got in touch with me told me I had 48 hours to get the idea to them. So he sent me the measurements of the wall and I came up with an idea. It wasn't exactly inspired, it was just an idea to send in to see how it would fly. The way frescoes work, you don't just do one idea, you do quite a few. But they accepted it. Of course, I tried to tell them it was just my first idea and I had another couple of ideas that would be better, but they said, "No, no, we want this one." I've never had to deal with anything like that before, you know. So I said, "What if what I?ve got in mind is better?" Still, they said, "No, no, we're the committee, we want this one." So I have kind of mixed feelings about that one. It?s also the only fresco that has been disfigured. Someone, I think a fundamentalist, came in and put little crosses on the beggar, the prostitute, the doorway, on the gun, the kid, the drunk and the liquor bottle. It was rather funny because the fresco is 12 feet away from the 24-hour police center.

 

S. P.: You've said the dome at Transamerica Square was your most challenging fresco to date. What made it so difficult?

 

B. F. L.: It was demanding because what we did, in my studio, which was down on Central Avenue at the time, we actually built a section that echoed exactly a section of the dome. As so, I was able to do drawings, move back from it and see how to correct certain distortions. We built many smaller domes to echo it as well. It was a very interesting project. It was tough physically because, as it turned out, I had a cyst on my spine. So my back was killing me. After we finished the dome, I had to have back surgery.

 

S. P.: Can you tell us a little bit about your family?

 

B. F. L.: I have a wonderful wife named Ella, and we just had a baby boy who is 9 months old and named Oakley. He is our fifth, and last, son. The oldest boy, Angus, is in the process of passing his bar exam. He graduated from Davidson College and received his law degree from the University of South Carolina. Taillefer, the next in line, graduated from Chapel Hill, did very well, and now I hope he finds lots of work. Both of them grew up in Florence and various parts of France. Gabriel is 9 years old and Ansleme is 7 years old. Both younger boys split time between our home in France and our home in Asheville. As you can see, Ella has her hands full.

 

S. P.: So, can you reveal any information about the fresco at First Presbyterian?

 

B. F. L.: Well, I will say that it is an interesting and problematic picture. I've been working on it in my studio over here and we are still shooting for our mid-October start date. That still seems reasonable, at least I hope so. There is still a lot left to do, so I don't want to curse myself.