Belfast-area residents are mourning the death of local artist Susan Tobey White, who was well-known for her paintings of food, faceless dancers, and working women hauling lobsters.
White also taught art at places such as Captain Albert Stevens Schools and Anderson Elementary School.
She died at her home on Sept. 22 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, her family announced on her Facebook page this week.
Many Belfast-area residents have expressed grief about the news.
“The community lost a very dear member recently, Susan Tobey White,” City Councilor Brenda Bonneville said during a meeting this week. “She was an art teacher in the school system, and she certainly was a large part of the arts community here in Belfast … She was vibrant. Her work is vibrant … She was really a pillar of the arts community and this community. We all miss her and our thoughts to her family.”
As an artist, White typically began her paintings “by pouring colors on the canvas, layering them until I begin seeing the forms of the dancers,” she had written on her website. “Then I will draw to define the images, add color with a brush, perhaps pour again, and then define with brush, palette knife, spatula or fingers. It is a constant work of balance.”
Her work has been shown in venues all along the east coast.
One of her standout series of paintings, “Lobstering Women of Maine,” was featured at the Penobscot Marine Museum in summer 2019, which began after she saw a woman unloading traps in Belfast harbor on a cold day in November.
“I was just blown away by how hard she was working — just seeing the strength of her,” White told the BDN of the series. “It just started evolving … There are so many paintings out there with the men. I’ve painted a lot of lobstermen. But this particular story is about the women.”
After her death, one of her fans pointed to that series of paintings in a remembrance she shared on social media.
“Her work highlighting the ups and downs of women who lobster lent such an important voice to a sector of the working waterfront that traditionally has never been taken seriously enough,” they wrote. “Through her art she commanded respect where it was long overdue. A true feminist in the purest of its constitution.”
Alan Crichton, the founder of the Belfast organization Waterfall Arts, shared his own remembrance on the group’s Facebook page.
“That she left us so quickly and way too soon is a great shock and a great sadness. It’s hard to say ‘was’ about Sue. Her feisty enthusiasm and endless productivity sets an enviable standard for working artists,” Crichton said. “She has always been right out there, making her own way, bringing others along, and she will continue to seem so present as we somehow get along now without her.”
White was integral in starting several local arts programs, including downtown art walks, Bonneville said.
White’s works are displayed in Darby’s Restaurant and other locations around the city. Her gallery at 111 High St. will be open to the public for viewing one last time on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 12 to 4 p.m. All are welcome to stop by to share memories and walk through her creative space.
