In memoriam: Steve Crohn

The last show he was involved with was for local artist Elin Menzies, who says that she is both honored and sad to find herself in that position. “Steve was a dedicated artist who painted beautiful, lyrical abstracts,” she said. “As a member of the Library Board, he was instrumental in having gallery spaces included in the new addition to the building. The art gallery was a wonderful fit for the library, and it was so smart of Steve to think of it. It’s an exciting plus for the many artists who need places to show their work, and it makes the viewing of art easily accessible to all who use the library. Steve will be missed, but will long be remembered for this important cultural contribution to the town.”

Earlier this year, Crohn told this reporter that he would like to see more recognition of the library as a public art gallery. To that end, he worked with the Art Along the Hudson organization, a widely-consulted tourism guide that brings awareness about cultural events to visitors to the Hudson Valley. To meet their criteria for inclusion, Crohn planned two years of exhibits in advance, and said he hoped to expand the focus of the library galleries in the future to include exhibits of historical significance along with the visual arts. Crohn also served as curator of works on display at Town Hall, a space he said he hoped to see blossom into another viable exhibition space in Saugerties.

Crohn was a part of the Saugerties Artists Studio Tour over the years, and took an active interest in encouraging and promoting other artists. “His energy, grit, great humor and deep love for art and other artists was important to this community, and the absence of it will be sorely noticed,” says Diane Dwyer, owner/curator of Imogen Holloway Gallery in the village. “He had a large presence and an attraction to the edge of things, but a more generous spirit you couldn’t find.”

“He was very knowledgeable about the art world,” says Jeffrey Schiller, a close friend and fellow artist. “He was really a very good man and helped a lot of people. And he was a talented artist… he really knew how to handle paint, to push it as far as he could.”

Crohn’s output of art was primarily as a painter but he worked in photography and sculpture as well, maintaining a studio since the 1960s, first in Manhattan and later in the Hudson Valley after moving north. “I hope my work is easy to enjoy,” he stated on his website. “The paintings are meant to have a visceral ‘feel’ to them. I paint them in relation to a landscape or a feeling, a situation or an idea… a mood, a time of day, a remembered place or relationship. Color plays a large part in their dynamism and how the viewer relates to the work. I aim to get at an emotional current or meditation point that could be universal.”

In addition to graduating from The Cooper Union in 1969, Crohn studied at the Art Students League in New York with Peter Golfinopolous from 1970–1972 and received a BA in Fine Art from City College New York in 1972. He received an award for painting from the Royal Art Society in London in that same year and his work has been widely exhibited in this country and abroad since. His art is in many private and public collections, including Le Centre Georges Pompidou-Beauborg in Paris (ceiling design/construction), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (photography) and the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (painting).

Steve Crohn’s funeral was held on Wednesday, August 28 at Congregation B’nai Israel Cemetery, Whitty Road, Toms River, NJ. Survivors include his sisters, Amy Crohn Santagata and Carla Crohn Friedman; stepsister, Judith Bloom: and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his partner, Jerry Greenwood, who died of AIDS in 1982. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to the Burrill B. Crohn Foundation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, 10029.

A memorial celebration of Crohn’s life is being planned by close friends. A date has not been set. Condolences may be offered at www.andersonandcampbell.com.