Art Rosenbaum

Art Rosenbaum created his first oil painting in grade school and his last one a few weeks ago, before the cancer he fought for two years ended his life on Sunday morning. His final piece was a portrait of singer Michael Stipe of REM, a former student in the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art, where Rosenbaum taught for 30 years.

As word circulated that Rosenbaum was ill, students from around the country flocked to Athens to thank him and say good-bye. He was 83.

"He was an extremely popular and effective teacher," said long-time colleague Judy McWillie.

Arthur Spark Rosenbaum, was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Della Spark Rosenbaum and Dr. David Rosenbaum, a U.S. Army pathologist who settled in Indianapolis, Indiana, after World War II. Art Rosenbaum said often that his mother, a laboratory technician, was an artist. She encouraged him and his siblings to develop interests in music, art and writing. Victor Rosenbaum, Art's younger brother, is a concert pianist and teacher in Boston.

After finishing high school in Indianapolis, Art earned a bachelor's degree in art history and an MFA in painting from Columbia University in New York. While there, he met and married artist Margo Newmark. He also was active in the city's emerging folk music scene, sitting in on music sessions and giving banjo lessons. In 1976, Art, Margo and their son Neil moved to Athens, where Art joined the Lamar Dodd faculty.

Read more about Art Rosenbaum on ajc.com