It’s fitting that an ophthalmologist with an eye for detail recently earned first place in the Newton Art Association (NAA) 2025 Members Show, which is on display at the Newton Free Library now through the end of September.
Dr. Deborah Schlossman’s oil painting, Garden Roses, which features blooms from her own garden, was described by judge Katherine Downey Miller as bringing “to mind the beauty and work of an old Dutch master,” during the awards ceremony at the show’s reception on September 15.
Schlossman said she was “excited and shocked” by the accolade, noting it was the first time she’d ever won first place in any activity.
Before the artists were honored in the Library’s Druker Auditorium, attendees viewed their colleagues’ work hanging nearby.
NAA members Keith Tornheim and Jenny Pivor discussed his mixed-media piece titled Top Drawer Commuters, which, appropriately enough, featured an actual wooden drawer.
Tornheim incorporates a variety of industrial objects into his assemblages, using their shapes to tell a story.
“I tend to see figures and faces and so on” in the odds and ends he finds at flea markets, on eBay, and even on the streets, he said.
In all, 10 awards were given out to NAA member artists working in a variety of media and featuring an array of topics.
New NAA president Judith Hurwitz, who also won an award, said in the near future, the organization would be working more with the city in order “to share and promote art” and build community.
Award winners
The Newton Art Association 2025 Members Show award winners are as follows:
- Gene Faucher Award: Nan Rumpf for Mine All Mine
- Dr. and Mrs. Leslie Russell Award: Sharon Schindler for Buoy Collection
- Molly L. and Henry Schoenberg Award: Kate Carleton for Early Morning Light
- First Place: Deborah Schlossman for Garden Roses
- Second Place: Sam Sweezy for Tryptic #1
- Third Place: Hillary Hanson Bruel for Occident
- Honorable Mention: Gail Hanson for Rose of Sharon
- Honorable Mention: Jenny Pivor for Tulips in the Public Garden
- Honorable Mention: Christina Yee for A Song for the Moon
- Honorable Mention: Judith Hurwitz for Wind Song
Back, from left: Hilary Bruel, Gail Hansen, Exhibit Judge Katherine Miller, Sam Sweezy, Deborah Schlossman, Jenny Pivor, and Sharon Schindler.
Front, from left: NAA president Judith Hurwitz, Kate Carleton, and Christina Yee. Award winner Nan Rumpf was unable to attend. (photo: Julie M. Cohen)
