Marilee Shapiro Asher (née Harris; November 17, 1912 – September 11, 2020) was an American sculptor, author[1] and survivor of both the Spanish Flu and the COVID-19.[2]
Early life
editMarilee Harris was born on November 17, 1912, in Chicago, one of five children of Frank and Bonnie Harris.[3][1] She contracted the Spanish Flu when she was six.[4] She started studying sculpture in 1936.[5]
Career
editAsher had her first solo exhibition at American University in 1947.[3][6] She exhibited at Smart Museum, Vassar College, Franz Bader Gallery, Washington Studio School, Studio Gallery, the Cosmos Club and Warehouse Gallery.
In the early 2000s, when looking for a less physical form of art, she studied digital art at the Corcoran School of Art and started doing digital photography.[7] In 2010, her photography was displayed at the Iona Guest Show when she was a visiting artist.[8]
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian and the Baltimore Museum of Art.[7] In 2019, she was on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour discussing how she maintains her productive life at the age of 106.[9] She wrote an autobiography entitled Dancing in the Wonder of 102 Years.[9][10]
Personal life and death
editAsher was married twice: first to Bernard Shapiro in 1943, and later to Robert Asher in 1993. She had one son and one daughter from her first marriage.[5] In April 2020, Asher went into the hospital with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago. She spent five days in the hospital, before recovering and returning to the Chevy Chase House, where she lived.[7] She died on September 11, 2020, at age 107.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "102-Year-Old D.C. Artist Embraces A Century Of 'Dancing In The Wonder'". WAMU. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ Dancing in the Wonder For 102 Years: An Autobiography (Amazon) Published April 2015. ISBN 150883914X.
- ^ a b Starling/ABC7, Alison (2019-04-12). "Working Woman: 106 years old, a sculptor turned photographer, and still going strong". WJLA. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "She survived the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and COVID-19. What is this 107-year-old's secret?". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ a b c Harris, Ben (September 30, 2020). "Marilee Shapiro Asher, artist who survived global pandemics a century apart, dies at 107". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ "103 Year Old Sculptor Marilee Shapiro Asher". Sculpture Digest. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ a b c Harris, Ben. "She survived 1918 Spanish flu and COVID-19. What's this 107-year-old's secret?". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ "Profile" (PDF). iona.org. May 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ a b "Dancing in the Wonder – Ralph Nader Radio Hour". Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ "Meet Marilee and Mabel, two working women over age 100". Women in the World. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2020-05-07.