[Un leu, un leu... Chapter II] The Man of a Thousand Faces: Domnul Lefter, The Painter

This is a continuation of the book "Un leu, un leu...", which was written in Romania by my late godfather and uncle Bill Edwards, and published by Evenimentul, a now defunct Romanian publishing company. The book is being released for the first time in English exclusively online here on Steemit, as a serial. I hope you enjoy his writings as much as I do!
- Rob

The most ubiquitous man in Bucharest, it seemed to me, was a prolific painter by the name of Lefter. Domnul Lefter, a seemingly droll painter of marginal talents, but of rapid execution, appeared at many of the diplomatic parties and receptions in Bucharest. He was always well dressed in suit and tie and festooned with a curious array of medals, pins, buttons, and decorations from all over the world. These could include a pin or medal from the People's Republic of China, or the Soviet Union beside a Voice of America (VOA) pin I had given him.

On many of his visits, Mr. Lefter was accompanied by his mother, a nice blond lady of indeterminate age, who in any event seemed too young to be his mother. It was the habit of the Lefters to attend, with or without invitation, national day celebrations in Bucharest of all of the embassies, representing nations from around the world.

The most unique thing about Mr. Lefter was that he always brought with him, to present to the ambassador or Charge d'Affairs of the respective embassy he was visiting, a large, framed, oil painting of that nation's chief of state. In our case, while I was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, President Ronald R. Reagan. I distinctly remember Mr. Lefter, accompanied by his putative mother, bringing and presenting such a portrait of Mr. Reagan to our ambassador during our Fourth of July celebration at the ambassador's residence in 1982. It caused much consternation, because Mr. Lefter asked that the painting be sent to the White House, and some of the staff at the embassy thought that the quality of it was such that it should not be. I remember that painting, as well as ones of then Vice President George Bush, and Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who made visits to Romania while I was there, being shunted about the embassy, the American Library, and the Press and Cultural Section, looking for a final diplomatic solution. I think that the paintings were ultimately and quietly filed away in the attic of one of the embassy's buildings for long term storage.

Lefter, left, presenting one of his thousand faces (portrait of then Secretary of State, Alexander Haig) to the U.S. Embassy's Press Attache and United States Information Service (USIS) Information Officer (IO) William E. Edwards, at the Press and Cultural Section of the embassy in Bucharest, Romania. The occasion was Haig's visit to Romania in February, 1982.

Mr. Lefter, probably exhibiting the same strains of genes and blood left by the Romans in both Spain and Romania, bore a remarkable resemblance to the Spanish king, Ferdinand VII, as seen in a painting by Francisco de Goya, I had seen years before in the Prado Museum.

At most of the receptions I attended where the Lefters were present, he and his mother would single me out and hold animated conversations with me, telling me, between bites of canapes, and sips of cocktails, of Mr. Lefter's latest projects. Mind you, many third world country emmisaries sought out Mr. Lefter to have portraits painted of the heads of state to be sent back to their capitals as a form of sycophancy. Many also wanted to have their own portraits painted on the cheap. I must admit that in a spell of egotistic weakness, I relented to Mr. Lefter's entreaties and requests to do a portrait of me. I said that I could not sit for him, but would provide a photo of me to work from, as he did when subjects could not sit for him. The photo I provided was one of me in military uniform taken of me years before while on Air Force Reserve duty.

I never received the painting, if it was ever done by Mr. Lefter, and he never returned the photo. I have since given the sequence and train of events and circumstances some wistful and on occasion, serious "what if" thought. What if Mr. Lefter was not the benign and comedic painter we all thought he was? What if when his diplomatic subjects sat for Mr. Lefter, they talked, as most people do when sitting for portraits, unconsciously about their work? What if these snippets of conversation were recorded by hidden microphones and later analyzed for bits of intelligence? What if the paints and oils and canvas and frames, so abundantly available to Mr. Lefter in a land renown for "Ceausescuian" shortages were provided to him just for this purpose? And how did he gain access to receptions when Romanians with valid invitations were turned away by the Securitate? The answers may be shocking, but Romanians were forced to do worse under Ceausescu.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please tell me what you thought of it in the comments below. Also, be sure to read the rest of Bill's works that are being published exclusively here on Steemit:

• Chapter I: Four Corners
• Chapter III: Cat Food in Romania
• Chapter IV: My Story About the First American in my Family
• Chapter V: A Pot of Rice
• Chapter VI: Same time, Same place, next Christmas
• Chapter XII: A Tale of Two Rings