SUSAN P. MAXFIELD

1944 - 2019

MAXFIELD, Susan P. Susan Peterson Maxfield, an award-winning fine artist who worked across a variety of mediums in contemplative homage to the natural world, died on Wednesday, May 22 at her home in Stow, MA. Susan was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 14, 1944 to Grace (Mimsey) Olmsted Peterson Potts and Harold (Pete) Leon Peterson, Jr. She discovered her artistic talent as a child, encouraged by her maternal grandfather, Harold (Coddy) LeRoy Olmsted. Susan's steady hand produced meditations that spanned all seasons: from majestic beech trees with their bulbous trunks rendered in striking dark charcoal, to the brittle autumn milkweed pods and wisps of flossy seeds captured in oil pastels. Her watercolors of lilies, poppies, and irises were delicate masterpieces. Susan studied at Abington Friends School, Oberlin College, and the Philadelphia College of Art. In the summer of 1965, she was introduced to William Heyward (Bill) Maxfield, who also lived at Bryn Gweled Homesteads in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bill and Susan were married in 1967 under the care of Abington Friends Meeting. Since 1975 their home has been a restored farmhouse in Stow, Massachusetts, where they raised their two sons, Benjamin Bowly (Jamie) Maxfield, of Arlington, Massachusetts, and Peter Legate Maxfield, of Portland, Oregon. Susan is survived by these three and by Peter's spouse Andrea Alejandrino and their two children, Roman Alejandrino Maxfield and Julianna Alejandrino Maxfield (both adored by their "GrammaSue"); by her sister, Anne Peterson Ogan (Nicholas); by her stepsister, Lydia Potts Quill (Paul Jefferson); and by her stepbrother, Edward Rhoads Potts, Jr. (Laura). The Saturday before she died, Susan spent part of the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors in the yard, surrounded by her family and several friends. Ever the careful observer of nature's splendor, she reveled in the new blooms, the birdsongs, and the warmth of the May sun. "Working from nature directly, I desire to take the viewer to a place to show you what I see, to share the moment of discovery," she once wrote. "My drawings are the result of my fascination and reverence for nature. I endeavor to show the plants in the precise state I observe them, without idealization, in their 'glorious particularity.'" There will be a retrospective of Susan's work at Concord Center for the Visual Arts, June 6 - 14, with an opening on June 6th, 6;00 – 8:00 pm. Memorial donations may be made to: Concord Center for the Visual Arts, 37 Lexington Rd., Concord, MA 01742 https://www.concordart.org/donate Asperger / Autism Network, 51 Water Street, Suite 206, Watertown, MA 02472 https://www.aane.org/

View the online memorial for Susan P. MAXFIELD