Longtime resident, art librarian, talented artist, set designer
Kitty Finkelpearl. (Courtesy photo)
Katherine “Kitty” Finkelpearl died Aug. 5, 2024, in the house in Shaker Village that she and her husband, Philip, had bought in 1956. She was 99. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1925 to Helen Frost Dice and Justus Howard Dice, she earned her bachelor’s degree in art and French from Wooster College and her master’s degree in library science from Carnegie Tech. In 1948, she married Philip Finkelpearl, also of Pittsburgh, an ideal union for 66 years, only ending with his death in 2014.
She had a distinguished career as art librarian at Vassar College in the ’60s and at Wellesley College in the ’70s and ’80s, where her infallible memory and sense of organization as well as her deep love and knowledge of art served her (and others) well.
She was also an artist, her style ranging from abstract expressionism to cut-out canvas installations, and large canvases of nature and architecture painted with delicate washes. Around the time of her retirement from Wellesley she had a string of successful shows at venues including Mobius, the alternative space in Boston, and Wellesley College. Most notably, she created a set design on her beloved Shaker theme for a collaboration with the choreographer Beth Soll in Santa Monica that the Los Angeles Times called “remarkable.”
To friends, she and her husband were inextricably tied to the beautiful house filled with books and art—as well as treasures from the take-it-or-leave-it area in the Harvard Transfer Station; she was a child of the Great Depression, after all.
She was referred to as a “legend” in Harvard for her longevity and independence. She could be seen swimming at Bare Hill Pond well into her late 90s and mowing the lawn at her house, where she lived independently until the final year of her life. She was not only physically active, but mentally engaged and quite opinionated, not only about politics (she was to the left of the Democratic Party), but also about issues of taste and aesthetics. Her sense of humor only grew stronger in her final years. When asked the secret to her vitality, she always said, “Keep moving,” sometimes adding that Celtics Coach Red Auerbach advised, “Don’t fall.” In the end, alas, she did.
She is survived by her daughter, Ellen, of Pasadena; son Tom of New York City and wife Eugenie; grandchildren Sarah Condomitti (and husband Dan); Thomas Dickey; and Jukie Tsai; and great-grandchildren Jeremy and Dylan Condomitti. She will be greatly missed by friends, family, and extended family.
Funeral services will be private.