Trending
1941-2024
Gary Niswonger: United High School Graduate, class of 1959, and Professor of Art at Smith College died Feb. 18, 2024, at home amongst his family in Williamsburg, Mass.
Born to Lewis Harmon Niswonger and Irma Virginia Pike Niswonger at home in Guilford, Ohio, in 1941, Gary attended local schools throughout his childhood, graduating from United High School in 1959.
After high school he worked in industry until attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduating in 1966 with a degree in History. He subsequently joined the Teacher Corps earning a Masters in Elementary Education and teaching fifth grade. Always interested in the arts, and influenced by the works of Salem artist, Charles Burchfield, he studied at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I.
After receiving his MFA in Printmaking in 1972, Gary was hired by Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where he taught printmaking - lithography, etching, and engraving - for 38 years and was an early adopter of computers and other technology.
While Gary taught he also loved to paint for his personal work. He was inventive and loved color, and was deeply involved in plein-air landscapes working in very meditative, abstract terms. He died whilst a show containing some of his work was hanging in a Northampton gallery.
Gary leaves DeeDee, his wife of 60 years, his three children, their spouses and five grandchildren, and his sister Janet.
4/10/24