Artist reaches new heights; high school teacher gets haunting role

PICTURE THIS It was an honor, but a bit daunting as well, says Barbara Ernst Prey of her commission from NASA. The artist, a New York native who summers in Maine, was asked to do the official portrait of the space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated during reentry a year ago. (Other painters who've worked for the space agency include Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol.) "It was an international tragedy, and I knew prints [of the painting] would be given to the astronauts' families," Prey said. "I wanted to do something very positive." The finished product, to be shown for the first time at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington Feb. 2, is a vivid watercolor of the shuttle lifting off at the Kennedy Space Center. Prey, who received her master's degree from Harvard, is getting accustomed to high-profile commissions. She did the White House Christmas card this year after President Bush and his wife, Laura, saw -- and bought -- a few of her paintings of Maine. (The Christmas card depicts the Diplomatic Reception Room and fireplace at the White House.) "It was sent to 1.5 million people, including heads of state all over the world," Prey said. "If you think about what you're doing and who's seeing it, it can get overwhelming, so I just don't think about it."GORE GOES TO THE MOVIES Even with three "American Experience" documentaries entered at the Sundance Film Festival, the local WGBH types are still finding time to check out the competition. At a Saturday screening of "Born Into Brothels," about a US photographer and children living in a Calcutta brothel, "American Experience" editor Sharon Grimberg ran into former vice president Al Gore. At a screening of their own "Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army," the 'GBH gang were happy when Patty Hearst herself walked in the door. The infamous heiress pronounced the picture (which will air sometime in 2005) one of the best she's seen on the subject of her bizarre life.HE'LL HAVE THE PANTHER Following yesterday's big win over Indy, we're told that Pats quarterback Tom Brady -- No. 1 in our hearts, but No. 12 in the huddle -- stopped by Restaurant Clio at the Eliot Hotel.COLD COMFORT Wouldn't you know it, aspiring actor Richard Smigielski finally lands a part -- on a national cable TV show, no less -- and it's a dead guy. Smigielski, a high school history teacher in Boston, plays hotelier Harvey Parker, founder of the Omni Parker House, on the Travel Channel's "Haunted Hotels: Echoes of the Past." Although Parker died in 1884, his ghost is said to inhabit the old hotel, roaming the upper floors checking on guests. "They gave me the clothing and said, `Just act like a ghost,' so I started walking very slowly," Smigielski said. "I asked for some makeup, and they said I didn't need any." The episode airs again locally Sunday at 5 p.m. What's next, Smigielski? "I'd love to do an episode of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Wouldn't we all.FOREIGN AFFAIR Former vice president Al Gore is endorsing Howard Dean, but not all cast-offs from the Clinton administration are following suit (at least, not that suit). Jamie Rubin, Clinton's former State Department spokesman, was at the Fletcher School at Tufts University yesterday stumping for Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark. Rubin, whose wife is CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour, has signed on as Clark's senior foreign policy adviser. (The visit was arranged by Fletcher alum Jason Forrester, the general's deputy director of national security policy.) Rubin, who lives in London because Amanpour has family there, spoke of the "difficulties of modern marriage" and admitted he wouldn't mind moving back to the United States. And asked whether he'd take a job in a Clark administration, Rubin replied: Sure. "Something between [state department] spokesman and secretary of state."SURPRISE! He thought it was a party for Sy Stewart, his longtime friend and business associate, but when Leonard Florence, former CEO of East Boston-based silverware giant Syratech Corp., arrived in New York last week, he found he was the guest of honor. The party celebrating Florence's 73d birthday was discreetly arranged by Terry Lundgren, CEO of Federated Department Stores, whose flagship chains are Macy's and Bloomingdale's. The crowd of well-wishers included retail execs Mike Gould, president of Bloomingdale's, and Norman Axelrod, CEO of Linens 'n Things. "They played the game on me," Florence said yesterday. "I guess they thought I wouldn't show up if I knew it was for me."

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