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Phyllis Skolnick Hirschberg
Phyllis Skolnick Hirschberg, a longtime resident of Amagansett, died on her 86th birthday, January 6, of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Born in Brooklyn, Ms. Hirschberg started painting at the age of six and just days before her death completed her final watercolor painting. A graduate of Cooper Union, she initially concentrated on woodcuts, having her first show in Manhattan in 1949. Much later she did a series of woodcuts based on Voltaire’s “Candide,” which were displayed in the first show at Glenn Horowitz Gallery in East Hampton and are now in the archives of the New York Public Library. She expanded her scope to include watercolors, oils, Japanese gold screens, calligraphy and even needlepoint.
Winner of the 1972 Guild Hall Best-In-Show award, followed by many shows in New York, Connecticut and Long Island, she was recently represented by the Butler Gallery in East Hampton.
After the birth of her two daughters, Lise and Wendy, the family said she and her husband, Irving, began a 54-year love affair with East Hampton, initially summering in a cabin on the bay in the Springs, finally moving to her house on Bluff Road in Amagansett in 1971.
Survivors remember her as a marvelous dancer, a creative gardener, and that she loved tennis and in her sixties discovered golf. Her true passion, however, was for her 11-year-old grandson, Miles, who would always greet her by running into her at full speed.
Family said her last few years were enhanced by the caring attention of a cadre of local health care professionals and her indefatigable aide, Judith.
She is also survived by her sister, Ellen Seligman and her son-in-law, Stuart Emanuel.
For those wishing to make a condolence call, the family will be at their home in Amagansett on Saturday, January 15 from 2 to 5 p.m. Ms. Hirschberg was very proud of her late brother Victor’s theatre in Huntington. The family suggests it for memorial donations: The Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue, Huntington, NY 11743.
on Jan 11, 2011