Remembering Dóra Maurer, Isaiah Zagar, and Peter Stämpfli
This week, we honor a Hungarian avant-garde artist, a Philadelphia mosaicist, a Swiss pop artist, and others.
In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Dóra Maurer (1937–2026)
Hungarian neo-avant-garde artist
Across graphic art, photography, films, and paintings, she explored themes of movement and displacement. Her work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and more.
Alan Burgess (d. 2026)
British painter and educator
He often painted the same subjects, from trees to the views from polymath John Ruskin's bedroom, over and over again. In 2002, he was selected to paint a grid of 50 trees in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's golden jubilee. He also ran an art class in his retirement.
Bill DeBrooke (1942–2026)
The "mayor" of Harlingen, Texas
He was so devoted to the revitalization of downtown Harlingen, Texas, that he earned the nickname of "mayor of downtown." He often befriended artists, offered affordable rent for studios, and collected their work, and he supported alternative art spaces.
Aleksandr Dotsenko (1960–2026)
Ukrainian jewelry artist jailed over antiwar protests
He was a retiree and jewelry artist outside of St. Petersburg, Russia, before he was jailed for allegedly placing anti-war postcards in a supermarket in the Leningrad region in 2024.
David Harding (1937–2026)
Town artist of Glenrothes, Scotland and educator
Inspired by Diego Rivera, he made work that was woven into the fabric of lived experience. He was part of the planning department of the town of Glenrothes in Scotland, and taught at institutions like the Glasgow School of Art, where he nurtured renowned artists like Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Demarco.
Caroline Hands (1948–2026)
British artist and community member
She ran community art projects and workshops in London, West Midlands and Herefordshire in the United Kingdom. She promoted a non-hierarchical approach to artmaking, and exhibited at galleries in the UK and China.
David Hose (d. 2026)
Mural artist of Monroe, Washington
He transformed large, empty walls across the city of Monroe, Washington into colorful and welcoming realist murals. His works included cowboy vignettes, pit crews, scenes of midcentury America, and more.
Carol Ivey (1949–2026)
Texas artist and educator
She had a lasting impact on the art scenes in Austin, where she was a founding member of the femme-focused art space Women and Their Work, and Fort Worth, where she lived for more than a quarter century. She was an abstract painter and portraitist, and exhibited and taught at what is now the Contemporary Austin.
Raffaello LaMantia (1935–2026)
Provincetown artist and teacher
He taught figure drawing, still-life painting, collage, fashion illustrating, and more to first-generation students in Chicago for decades. He was a passionate advocate for marriage equality, painted landscapes, and showed his work at galleries across the world, from Provincetown, Rhode Island, to Mexico and Germany.
David McNeil (1945–2026)
Scottish photographer and picture editor
Educated at the Glasgow School of Art, he was a commercial photographer before working as an assistant to artist John Stephens Orr. Afterward, he worked as an official photographer for Rangers Football Club in Glasgow, Scotland; chief photographer of the Sunday Mail; and a caretaker for his wife, journalist Melanie Reid, after she suffered a devastating injury.
Ashley Stewart Rödder (1984–2026)
Director at Gagosian
She was known as a fierce advocate for artists at Gagosian, working closely with Stanley Whitney, Titus Kaphar, and Deana Lawson, among others. Before that, she worked as a sales director at Salon 94 and held various positions at David Zwirner Gallery.
Albert Scherbarth (d. 2026)
Iconoclastic Dallas artist
His work ranged from prints to furniture to metalwork. He settled in the Cedars district of downtown Dallas in the '80s, when it was mostly deserted, and helped build it into a major art nexus.
Denys Short (1928–2026)
Welsh sculptor, painter, and educator
He was known for his depictions of the industrial streets and landscapes of South Wales, and taught at institutions including Goldsmiths' College School of Art.
Peter Stämpfli (1937–2026)
Swiss Pop artist
He was particularly known for sculptures, paintings, and mixed-media work depicting tires. He represented Switzerland in the 1967 São Paulo Biennale in Brazil and the Venice Biennale in 1970, and his work is held at the Museum of Modern Art, the Pompidou in Paris, and more.
Raimonds Staprans (1926–2026)
Painter who captured the nuances of San Francisco light
The Latvian-born artist was known for still lifes and landscapes that captured the particular light of California. He received the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia's highest civilian honor, in 2003, as well as the country's presidential medal in 2024.
Isaiah Zagar (1940–2026)
Philadelphia mosaic artist
He completed more than 200 murals in and around Philadelphia, most notably his largest work, the Magic Gardens, a nonprofit outdoor gallery space. His work is also in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and more.
