Michelle Marder Kamhi, RIP

In Remembrance

I was saddened to learn the other day that my friend and mentor Michelle Marder Kamhi has passed away. Chris Sciabarra has written a more complete remembrance of our mutual friend, so I will add only a few personal notes.

During my college years at Columbia University, I spent quite a bit of time with Michelle and her husband Lou Torres (whom I'd met even earlier when he gave a talk on art appreciation at the American Renaissance School). It was my good fortune to assist them with Aristos, the independent arts journal they published for many years. Michelle was ever gracious and considerate, interested in hearing my thoughts on a wide variety of topics, curious about my studies in philosophy and ancient Greek, and extremely kind to someone who was so young and inexperienced. Her knowledge of art history was immense, but even greater was her passion about the arts. Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Michelle and Lou was an education unto itself! We also liked to walk from their brownstone on West 94th Street toward the Hudson River, where at Riverside Drive we would soak in the inspiring equine sculpture of Joan of Arc by Anna Hyatt Huntington. From Michelle and Lou I learned about so many artists I never would have encountered otherwise, and about the deep meaning and importance of art in human existence.

More recently, I helped Michelle and Lou to archive the Aristos website so that it will be available in perpetuity on the Internet. Even though at the time Michelle was struggling with the serious illness that would eventually take her life, she was characteristically and unfailingly gentle and patient. Michelle was a beautiful person and I will miss her very much.