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Ossining Open Studios Tour Features 98-Year-Old Artist

OSSINING, N.Y. -- Ed Malsberg has been painting for more than 75 years.

Ed Malsberg

Ed Malsberg

Photo Credit: Contributed

The 98-year-old Ossining resident is one of the more than 20 local artists who will be displaying their artwork as part of the Ossining Arts Council's Open Studios Tour on Saturday. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The tour features painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, digital artists, and others.

"My whole house is a gallery," Malsberg, who will be displaying his watercolor paintings, said. 

Malsberg said many of his paintings from 75 years ago still hold up and reminds him of many special memories.

"I used to paint a lot in the open air back when I didn't mind freezing or roasting," Malsberg said. "I wouldn't expose myself to that today."

Growing up in Boston, Malsberg first became interested in art when he took a class at the YMCA and began painting models.

"My teacher told me I should consider studying art," Malsberg said. "The thought never occurred to me."

Initially wanting to be a doctor or dentist, Malsberg eventually enrolled in an art school in Massachusetts where he learned the ropes about how to draw and paint.  Malsberg said he loved his time at school and remembers pestering the janitor to let him early so he could work.

After graduation, he served in World War II and when he came home, decided to move to New York City with his art school buddies.

"I knew if we stayed in Boston, we'd amount to nothing," Malsberg said. 

Malsberg moved into a tenement house on West 45th Street and began working as an illustrator, from illustrating scientific textbooks to a book about dinosaurs.  He later moved to Ossining, where he raised his family. Both his son and grandson are now artists.

Tickets and maps for the tour will be available at the Ossining Farmers Market on Oct. 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m and also at First Village Coffee at 123 Main Street. There will be a suggested donation of $5 to support the Ossining Arts Council.

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