Greenland 1 - Watercolor

"Every subject I paint (no matter the medium) I need to show in its strength-- not in delicacy. I push the images forward for the impact to be experienced."

Rivertown (Double) - Solar Etching

Eleanor Goldstein is a painter and sculptor from New York City, working in a variety of mediums. She is a mother, wife, social worker, teacher-- and always a passionate supporter of all the arts, having spent most of her 85 years painting.


Tell us about yourself and your background.
I am a Jewish girl from the Bronx approaching 85, and I paint as much as I can. I have lived through a world of tremendous change. I trained at the New York City Ballet School, and played piano for seven years. When I did discover I had to paint- I was so young that I needed written permission to draw the nude models at the Arts Student League in Manhattan. From there, I have kept at it -- majoring in sculpture at Bennington College, teaching art in the NYC school system, and taking part in residencies in America and abroad. I still go to classes at the Arts Student League, and I am back to sculpting again after 5 or 6 years; learning to cast in Bronze! I am always trying to push my work forward and experiment.
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Construction Site - Watercolor Diptych

"Sometimes I start in one medium and it will not work until I find The Right One for the job."
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Smaller Bridge at Night - Watercolor

Tell us about your work and why it is unique.
When I start a new project, a certain kind of fear literally takes hold of me. But then I’ll reach a breaking point and paint a passionate response to that feeling of fear. I typically paint large (I like the paper to be my size or larger), which enables me to attack the paper. I can only paint when I cannot stand NOT to paint any longer. I have done a lot of work in just about every medium: painting (oil, watercolor, pastel, acrylic), as well as sculpture, solar etchings/monoprints, and mixed media/college. Each subject chooses its own medium to best express or capture it: with people and figures it was clay/wood/pastel primarily, with the cityscapes it was oil/monoprints, with landscapes it was water-color. Sometimes I start in one medium and it will not work until I find The Right One for the job. I want to use the medium that most forcefully allows me to express a feeling. Every subject I paint (no matter the medium) I need to show in its strength-- not in delicacy. I push the images forward for the impact to be experienced. It is unusual for me to paint something from a great distance. I want the here-and-now of the work up front, almost as if one is able to step into the image.
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Storm Warning - Oil Painting

Eleanor in Greenland

"I am driven to catch beauty before its destruction."
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What are your sources of inspiration?
The cyclical nature of life and death is often a theme. I am driven to catch beauty (whether urban or natural) before its destruction. Silence and solitude are other true sources of inspiration. I also love discovering the works of other artists, which is absolutely essential.

​Tell us about some of your achievements.
The most exciting achievement of my career was the commission of a 19-foot mural for St. John the Divine Cathedral -- that was a total gift to me, a magnificent experience. Also, this piece of sculpture (Risen) was a real accomplishment.

Last Lights - Pastel

Down River - Oil

What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about the patterns of shadows cast across highways; the marsh in October turning from green to the color of wheat; the sound of a violin played in the empty columbarium of a Church, and by the cry of need heard across our world.

Share with us the back-stories.
I have made two trips to Greenland in the last year to see the icebergs in their true majesty before their destruction.
I am fixated on the warming of our Earth and the pending loss of life, and beauty- particularly in this landscape. My first trip to Greenland was on a converted fishing boat, up the shoreline, where we touched the Arctic Circle. On my second trip, I chose to see and experience this endangered world on my own. One night, standing in darkness, I was surrounded by complete silence, not a sound by man or nature. I have been trying to capture those moments in my studio ever since.

Risen - Bonded Carrara

St. John Cathedral - Wall Mural

"I am passionate about the patterns of shadows cast across highways; the marsh in October turning from green to the color of wheat; the sound of a violin playedin the empty columbarium of a Church, and by the cry of need heard across our world."

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Tell us about where you are based.
While I have traveled the world to remarkable places, I was born in the Bronx, and have continued to live in and around New York City ever since. New York is a vibrant city-- diverse in its people and its art. A cauldron from which I drink and gain energy! I was compelled to memorialize the dynamic time in New York in which I was raised (post WWII) and do honor to the workers who built my city. They worked hard (Union guys!) and I really wanted to capture their landscape before all the old neighborhoods were torn down.

How do you feel about art and its role in the world?
Not art -- but The Arts (plural)-- are a diary of what is, of the moment, how it relates to our past and future. Do we celebrate, or are we the voice of nightmares? Or both? I applaud the diversity of artists now being recognized. We were so oriented to Western Art for so long, and so minimally invested in global art -- and the broadening of what constitutes art, legitimate art, is now acknowledging the power and beauty that is created in many places of the world, which is very exciting and inspiring to me. I think it creates a broader understanding and respect.

How do you want your art to affect the viewer/ world?
I want them to stop, truly look, and feel. That’s it!
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www.eleanorgoldsteinart.com

"The Arts are a diary of what is, of the moment, how it relates to our past and future. Do we celebrate, or are we the voice of nightmares? Or both?"