Richard Callner

Dear Carolyn, Joanna and David,
Although we were kids the last time we saw each other my family (dad Marty Malter and Uncle Lew Malter) would talk about Cousin Richard and family as if we saw you all the time. Marty and Lew were so very proud of him and admired his zest for life, art and learning. He will always be remembered fondly by his Chicago cousins. With Love, Sue Malter Morrison

Dick Callner was more important to me than any other of my teachers in seven years of art school. He was an exceptional teacher. He was very real in the classroom and out. He was an inspiring role model; he demonstrated how to fit life and art together.

Dick was my printmaking professor when I was a graduate student at Tyler School of Art (1965-1968). He showed personal interest in my work and treated me like an artist - a young one in training. He gave me hope that with focus and...

Dear Carolyn, Richard was a wonderful teacher and a warm and caring human being. Those of us who were fortunate to have him as a mentor, teacher and friend value his dedication and kindness. You and your family are in our thoughts.

Dearest Carolyn,
Dick's magnificent works and great spirit will be with us forever. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Pat Swygert, President,Howard University,Washington, D.C.

As Teaching Assistant at UALbany, in 1973, under Mark Greenwold, the Dean asked me to sit (as student rep.)on the Search Committee for a new Department Chair. Ed Cowley would be retiring and a nation-wide search began. Who knew, then, how powerful an impact on our community Richard Callner would be. Not I, but I'm so proud to have been a teeny, tiny part of choosing him. Irreplacable and unforgetable. He is "alive" in my house, bringing me joy every day I look at his work.

My Dad, Robert Wiener, and Richard Callner were good friends at school and Dad told me lots of great stories about the things they got up to.

One time they had to provide "entertainment" for the Green Lantern Food Co-op. They put together a ballet act in which my skinny father was the danseur, while Dick was the ballerina in a tutu that Dad struggled to lift off the ground, never mind over his head!

Another story was the artistic advice Dad gave Dick. He said "Richard Callner"...

My heart and sympathies go out to you and your family, Carolyn. Both Richard and you have been in my daily thoughts. I feel blessed to have known Richard and my prayers are with you. Fondly, Susan Holland

Carolyn, Joanna, David and family,
We send our deepest sympathy, love and support. What a remarkable man and remarkable life. We are grateful that he touched our lives.

I was just a kid when we visited our cousins in Albany, but through the thick fog of memory, his warmth, kindness, and a sense of wonder seeing his paintings remains.