1925-1966
Shirley Estelle Witebsky, sculptor and printmaker, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 31, 1925. She studied art and printmaking at the University of Minneapolis, graduating in 1945.
Around 1952, Witebsky left for France to study with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. In Paris, she met fellow printmaker Krishna Reddy who was also working at the atelier and they were later married. They returned to the United States and, in 1964, were both invited to participate in the First International Sculpture Symposium in North America in Montreal, Canada. They each created a sculpture for the Mount-Royal Park. Because Witebsky is represented in this sculpture park she is listed as a Canadian artist on some websites.
After being diagnosed with cancer Witebsky returned to Minneapolis for a short time before moving to Tenafly, New Jersey for treatment. She succumbed to the disease in August of 1966, just short of her forty-first birthday.
Witebsky’s graphic work was sometimes sold through Roten Galleries, which sold original prints at universities throughout the United States from the 1930s through the mid 1970s. Her work is represented in numerous university collections throughout the country, including the collections of the California State University at Long Beach and Oregon State University. Her work is also owned by the City of Montreal and is represented in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Art.
