IN MEMORIAM: DIANE H. MACDONALD
Diane H. Macdonald died in Austin, Texas on November 10, 2024. She was 93 and an Honorary Lifetime NAWA Member.
Born and raised in Fostoria, Ohio, Diane attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. After deciding, at the age of 20, that New York City was the only place to be an artist, she applied for and was awarded a tuition-free education at the Cooper Union School of Art where she received instruction from nationally known artists. While attending Cooper Union at night, she worked full time in the Art Department of McCall’s Magazine. It was during this time that she met her beloved future husband with whom she would share life for 62 years.
Diane and Jim settled in Englewood, New Jersey, where she took a sabbatical from her art career to raise their three children. When she reemerged into the world of art, she resumed painting and drawing and became passionately involved in artist groups including SALUTE to Women in the Arts and the National Association of Women Artists. Along with being featured in solo shows, Diane’s work was also accepted into a number of juried shows and exhibitions in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area. Her pieces won recognition and were awarded prizes, including the Alice Neel Memorial Award at the NAWA Annual Show.
Bryant Park by Diane Hillier Macdonald
Primarily an oil painter, Diane also worked in acrylics, watercolor, ink, charcoal, pencil, and even clay. Her art, mostly semi-abstract and rich in vibrant color, was a reflection of her joy in the world around her. From the late 1940s until she moved to Texas in 2021, her favorite place to paint and draw was New York City’s Bryant Park where she found endless inspiration in the park’s musicians, dancers, chess players, children, and lunch hour loungers. Along with her beautiful art, Diane will be remembered for her kind, loving, and generous spirit.
Diane was predeceased by her husband, James A. Macdonald and her brother, Michael G. Hillier. Diane is survived by her children, Melinda Twomey and her husband Barry of Austin, Texas; Christopher Macdonald, M.D. of San Antonio, Texas; and David Macdonald and his wife Lara of Arlington, Virginia. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Paul, Margot and her wife Clarissa, Laura, Mark, Kimberly, Abigail, and Zachary.
NAWA members Penny Dell, Ann Lasusa and NAWA Executive Director Jill Clifford Baratta attended a memorial service that was held on November 23, 2024 at the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Diane’s memory to NAWA or the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood.
IN MEMORIAM: HEATHER GENE ABRAMS
NAWA Member Heather Gene Abrams, talented artist, teacher, long-time Utica resident, and cherished friend, died at her home in late August 2024.
Educated in the Utica Public School System, Heather received a B.A. in Art History from Boston University and was awarded the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a competitive grant given to high-achieving students to continue their education after graduation. She attended graduate school at New York University.
An accomplished artist, Heather’s work was displayed in several galleries around the country. She was a Signature Member of the Central New York Watercolor Society, which also included her work in several of its shows throughout the years. She was equally talented in oil painting and sculpture. Although versatile in several genres, Heather had a strong passion for depicting scenes in the Southwest, and to that end she spent many summers in New Mexico, capturing photos of inscription rocks, which she then sketched and reproduced in print editions.
Heather also loved teaching Art History at Utica College, where she was an Adjunct Professor of Fine Arts. Her students described her as tough but caring, always willing to help those who were eager to learn and extremely knowledgeable about art. Friends say she was a virtual encyclopedia when they went with her to museums. She was a member of Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute (Munson), the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Growing up in Utica, Heather worked summers and holidays in her parents’ store, Johann’s, a well-known women’s and girls’ clothing store, which was a fixture in both downtown and New Hartford for several decades. She was also a gifted fashion designer, often sketching and sewing her own creations.
Heather was predeceased by her parents, Sylvia Abelove Abrams and Herman Abrams; and also by her sister, Leslie Abrams. She is survived by her cousins, Ann Abelove Siegel, David Abelove, Chris Gordon, Robbie Hardee, Sherry Abelove, and Henry Abelove. She also cultivated many friendships over the years which she held dear. She will be sorely missed.
