Albert Wisner Public Library hosts dedication of paintings donated by Nell Rothschild

Warwick - Albert Wisner Public Library hosted an official dedication of two paintings donated by one of Warwick’s favorite citizens, Mrs. David (Nell) Rothschild, on Friday, Feb. 9. One painting is of a local farm scene by the late Dr. Donald B. Hull of Warwick. The other is that of Rothschild herself, by the portrait artist Ruth Renwick. The Hull painting was recently restored by the prominent artist Paul Gould of Cornwall. Both paintings are now on display in the library. Rothschild, a Warwick resident for nearly 60 years and a familiar figure at the Wisner Public Library, served in numerous community organizations including the St. Anthony Community Hospital Auxiliary (SACHA) and the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick. She was a trustee of the Historical Society and also president of the Warwick branch of the American Association of University Women. Rothschild also served as vice regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In her long career in education, she held positions as dean of the Packer Collegiate Institute, registrar of St. Francis College, and in the Admissions Office at New York University where she earned her Master of Arts degree in college administration. For decades, the painting by Dr. Hull hung in the home David and Nell Rothschild. “Nell wants my father’s painting placed in our library to remind patrons of the spectacular beauty of our rapidly disappearing farmsteads,” said Warwick historian and son of the artist, Professor Richard Hull. In his address, he explained that his father was president of the Warwick Art League and a founder of the Ridgewood Art Institute. Dr. Hull’s paintings of Warwick landscapes from the 1950s to 1986, he added, grace the walls of hundreds of homes and institutions here, nationally and overseas. “My father,” he said, “did many works of local barns believing that in the years ahead as agriculture declined many of these beautiful structures would be demolished. He wanted to preserve the heritage of agriculture in Warwick by capturing these rural images on canvas.” Mayor Michael Newhard praised Rothschild for her service to the community and for her gift to the Wisner Public Library. “This library is the perfect place to display these paintings,” said Newhard who recalled that a painting by the famous artist Jasper Cropsey, which once hung in the library, inspired him, as a boy, to become an artist. Although Nell Rothschild, now in her 90s and living in senior housing, remains active and enjoys dancing twice each week, she took the advice not to attend the ceremony on such a cold and windy day.