As F. Lennox Campello notes in his lively blog, Mid Atlantic Art News, he got there before me in rebuking the Washington Post for its race-based story on Jacob Lawrence in the White House.

Here's his original post. Here's mine.

Granted. He's first. Now that I've read his stories, however, two things pop up. First is his assessment of Jacob Lawrence's character. Evaluating the personality of artists isn't a critic's job. Just by logging in on that subject, Campello is already over the top. But because I find his version of Lawrence so deeply off base, I'm going to bat the ball back in a court neither of us should be playing on in the first place.

Lawrence was a generous, gentle person. Thomas Merton wrote once that people full of grace accept praise the way a pane of glass accepts the sun. Praise passes through them without changing their character. I've seen Lawrence both fawned over and patronized, and he never retreated from the humane, enagaged and thoughtful contact he offered everyone.

Here's Campello's take: "In my own personal experience, Jacob Lawrence was pretty close to an a--hole as an arts teacher (which sometimes means that he was also a brilliant teacher to students other than me), a pretty good drinking buddy, and an opinionated b--tard. But Lawrence and his artwork was also without a doubt (in my opinion) one of the greatest American contributions (and artists) of the 20th century."

You're entitled, Campello, but I doubt there's a person in Seattle who'd agree with you on your personal comments. Not a single one.

Onward to eyebrows. He found my comments about Laura Bush's eyebrow pencil "rather weird." It would be weird if she were an artist or any kind of private citizen. But she's First Lady. When she muffs the makeup for a photo shoot, it's worth a deconstructing comment or two.

What would be petty if I had written it about my mother is fair for the First. She's surrounded by helpers and heading for the Washington's Post's camera. Is it a cry for help? A public sign of private anguish? Decoding Laura Bush's eyebrow would have been child's play for Roland Barthes, but since he's no longer with us, I simply raised the question.

On the other hand, I see Campello's point. I'm not Barthes nor Tim Gunn. In the future I pledge to leave everybody's eyebrows alone.