It is with sadness that we inform you of the passing of longtime MGC member Virginia Smit. Her friend and MGC member Abby DuBow shared this eulogy with us:
“Virginia grew up in Pennsylvania, the daughter of two professionals. She attended Moore College and then went on to get her master’s in fine art at the University of Pennsylvania. It was there that she met her husband, Hank Smit, who was studying at the Wharton School. They were married for many years and have three children, Peter, Derrick, and Christy and three grandchildren. As an adult Virginia pursued a doctoral degree at Teachers College in addition to the many courses she took at Parsons and other venues to increase her knowledge of art techniques and materials.
“Virginia was an artist all her life. She was also a devoted art teacher to children of all ages and capabilities.
“Virginia was a most remarkable and creative printmaker. She spent many years working with linocut before branching out into monotypes, silkscreen, solar plate, colloagraph and mixed media. She was a founding member of Cinque gallery and a longtime member of Viridian Gallery in Chelsea. Her work has been featured in books on printmaking and has been shown in numerous galleries in the us and overseas. She is featured in many private collections and institutions. Her work often had a joyous, life affirming quality and reflected Viriginia’s love of flowers, fish, and butterflies, as well as political and equitable themes. She was smart, engaged with life and her fellow artists, and a generous friend. She is dearly missed by all who knew her.”