During his life he was regarded as remarkable for his ability as an artist, and now even more so for the self-help organisation he founded forty years ago. The crucial word is 'partnership'. Since then the Association has striven to make it clear that it is not a charity and does not qualify for charitable assistance. It is understandable that lay people should associate handicapped artists with charity because there are so many worthwhile charitable organisations concerned with the welfare of the disabled. Members of the Association do not need charity because they are professional artists in their own right.
Pictures are like children who leave home.
Nobody asks them whether their father has lost a foot or an arm. And the whole point of the Association is that its members must be of a professional standard. When it is agreed that a student's work has reached a standard judged to be equal to that of able-bodied professionals, full membership is granted. The Association is constantly seeking new members. When contact is made with a disabled artist who appears to have artistic potential his or her work is evaluated and if it is considered sufficiently promising a scholarship is offered.