Art Rosenbaum obit

Artist, Musician, Folklorist and Educator Art Rosenbaum Has Died

 

He was not on the list.

 

Sad news has arrived that Art Rosenbaum (born 1938) died from cancer in the early morning of Sunday, Sept. 4. A painter, muralist and illustrator, Rosenbaum has had countless exhibitions, commissions, publications and other projects over the years. As an educator, Rosenbaum inspired a generation of emerging artists while teaching at the Lamar Dodd School of Art from 1976–2006, and became UGA’s first Wheatley Professor in Fine Arts.

Alongside his wife and fellow artist Margo Newmark Rosenbaum, he traversed the country for several decades to find and preserve blues, ballads, spirituals, fiddle tunes and other forms of American traditional music. As Art recorded the performances, Margo would often photograph these precious moments that may have otherwise been lost to history. A musician himself with a particular fondness for mountain and old-time banjo picking, he was an annual staple of the North Georgia Folk Festival and could often be found performing with the Around the Globe Sea Chanty Singers.

Details on a memorial service will be updated here when available.

Rosenbaum was born in Ogdensburg, upstate New York in 1938. His family moved around the United States during his childhood, spending time in Indianapolis and elsewhere, while his father was a member of the Army Medical Corps. He studied at Columbia University, receiving a BA and MFA.

He won a Grammy award in 2008 for Best Historical Album, for his music collection Art Of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years Of Traditional American Music Documented By Art Rosenbaum.