You could call it a “Hello, Dolly” party, but it had nothing to do with the Broadway musical. But just about everywhere you went at the event hosted by Brantley Ellzey and his husband, Jim Renfrow, on April 16th was a depiction of Dolly Parton. Paintings and other art work featured an image of the singer in some way.
P(ART)ON, which was held at Brantley Ellzey’s Summer Studio, was a fundraiser for Liz Grauer, the wife of the late Shea Grauer, and their children. It was reported Shea was killed last February in Midtown.
“An Art Benefit Celebrating the Life of Shea Grauer” was the subhead on the poster. Beneath that was written, “A Silent auction featuring Dolly-inspired art from Memphis’s most dynamic creatives.”
A large photo of Shea hung over the stage, where Tennessee Screamers, Papa Top’s West Coast Turnaround Band, and two “Dollys” — Miss Pattie O’Furniture and Hunny Blunt — performed.
“Jim and I were close friends with Shea,” Ellzey says. “And, like a lot of people in Midtown, we would always see him when we were out in the evenings. Shea was one of those people who was a Midtown fixture for many people. And after he was tragically murdered I think everyone was kind of at a loss. But at the same time looking for a way to respond to that horrible event.
“I was familiar with his passion for Dolly Parton and I just started talking to other artists and realized maybe we could all come together and — it sounds cliché — try to make something good out of something that was so terrible.”
They raised almost $28,000 at the event, which included donations as well as the silent auction, says Ellzey, whose rolled paper piece, Dolly of Many Colors, was the event’s highest-selling artwork at $1,300. It was “rolled copies of People magazine’s tribute issue, ‘Dolly at 75,’” Elzey says.
A total of 49 pieces of art were included in the auction. “All of the art was sold,” he says.
Tiger Bryant provided the food, which included barbecue from Tops Bar-B-Q.
P(ART)ON was gratifying, Ellzey says. “When you try to create something beautiful out of all of this bad news we’re hearing, you feel like you’ve done something positive not only for the charity or family, but for the whole city.”
The GoFundMe for the event is still live for those who want to contribute.
