Joseph Romeo

Da Wei Kwo also known as David Kwok was an exceptionally talented artist. I met him when I was fifteen year old at his studio on 57th Street. I just recounted our memorable meeting on Facebook today. It was when I had showed Betty White an original Da Wei Kwo painting of a Pekingese. "Betty had 3 dogs and in addition to Brandy the Saint Bernard, an a Poodle, Betty had a cute little Peke. My mother bought an original painting of an adorable and very sad looking Peke from an artist named David Kwok whose Chinese name was Da-Wei Kwo (Google his name) At that time in 1959, I wanted to show Betty the painting, and I was in the high school "camera club" so the photo is terrible. She was coming into New York to do a live soap opera, so she called me to meet her in NY and she was delighted to see the Peke painting by Da-Wei Kwo. But some time after, I was walking along 57th Street and spotted a small brass sign that said DAVID KWOK. I walked into his tiny office and said he had to make reprints of his Peke and I drew it for him and he was OVER THE MOON! 5 years later, I was in England in the town of Sutton going up an escalator in a department store and when I got to the second floor the wall was lined with Da-Wei Kwo Peke prints in a bunch of frames. I wanted to buy one but I had 6 more countries to see! Here is the photo of me showing the print to Betty White. She was 5'4" and weighed 110 lbs. She was very kind to me, and that helped me cope with being unpopular. To be successful, you have to go through it alone. Life is a PYRAMID. The special people are at the top of the pyramid trying to bring you up! And the losers are on the bottom, trying to keep you down. Betty is a Pyramid person. To have known her was a blessing that affected my whole life." Da Wei Kwo's books are in my art library. His daughter is a plastic surgeon. I will fill in more details. And I have given him and his art a fitting tribute.