OIL PAINTING BY PHOENIX ARTIST
ACCEPTED BY MDA ART COLLECTION

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 15, 2003 — An oil painting by Rosalie Toth of Phoenix has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Art Collection. Now in its 11th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

"Mountain Stream" depicts a small, secluded cabin nestled in the mountains of Arizona. The scene appears to have been painted during springtime, as the mountain stream from the title briskly carries melted snow to the valley below.

Toth is a retired real estate sales agent, who has enjoyed drawing "ever since I could hold a pencil." A remarkably versatile artist, Toth also enjoys sculpting and ceramics. Toth and her husband, Stephen, are both active MDA volunteers in the Phoenix area.

Toth, 77, is affected by by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic disorder that results in muscle weakness, particularly in the hands and lower legs.

"Mountain Stream" is Toth's second donation to the MDA Collection, following her 1999 contribution, "Native American with Sheep."

"We're deeply honored to welcome this second work by Rosalie Toth into the permanent MDA Art Collection," MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. "Her contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection."

The new addition by Toth will be exhibited at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection currently comprises some 300 works by artists aged 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Philbrook Museum in Tulsa; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children's Museum; Blackhawk Museum, Danville, Calif.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains a clinic for Phoenix area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.

The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.