Madeleine E. Maldonado

1930 - 2020

Madeleine Evans Maldonado, of Concord, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on July 10 at Care Dimensions Hospice in Lincoln at the age of 90. She was born in Buffalo, NY in 1930 to James Carey Evans and Madeleine Evans and spent her early years in Buffalo and East Aurora, NY. She attended Vassar College and graduated from Wellesley College before graduating from the Museum School of Bostons Museum of Fine Arts. She moved to Concord in 1971 to be near daughter Carey who attended Concord Academy. Madeleine converted one room of her rented duplex into a studio because she was an artist first and foremost and having a place to work was essential. In 1983, she was one of the very first artists to join the Emerson Umbrella in Concord, now the Umbrella Arts Center, where she maintained an active studio until 2017. With her husband Fernando Maldonado, she traveled the world, working for Lindblad Travel, spending six months in Cairo and on the Nile. She traveled the Trans Siberian Railroad twice and helped luminaries like Lady Bird Johnson and Bill Gates enjoy Egypt and East Africa. She was an artistic explorer and innovator and a constant learner. She was a maker. Found objects were an inspiration. A new technique in sculpture or painting was either something she had to try, master, or simply invent. To balance those disciplines, she played in clay and metal. Throughout her life, she enjoyed the familys summer place, a string of houses and cabins on Lake Huron in Ontario, peopled by multiple generations, where her independence and creativity was nurtured by nature and the freedom she enjoyed there. All of those places, what she saw, were sources of inspiration. Her images captured a lake in China, an Argentine landscape, scenes of the natural world around Concord, an African antelope, and quiet time with family in Canada. Madeleine sought out female artistic and intellectual mentors among her family elders, her professors at Wellesley, and her artist colleagues at the Emerson Umbrella. She completed the circle by becoming that friend and mentor to many younger women artists. She touched, guided, and loved so many people. Members of the Peabody and Howland families hold her memory dear as she held theirs and them. Her sisters Sheila and Jane were hugely important to her as were her many cousins, nieces, and nephews who knew her spirit and her delight in being together. Her colleagues at the Umbrella, and the organization itself, were a source of stimulation and friendship. She is survived by her daughter Carey Peabody (Edward Isaaks) of Emerald Hills, CA, son George Peabody (Nancy Kaplan) of Acton, MA, granddaughters Anna Sweeney (Ruairi Sweeney), Katie Peabody, grandson James Isaaks (Evie McGee), and great granddaughter Indra Isaaks. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Black Votes Matter (www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/donate). Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. To share a remembrance or to offer a condolence in her online guestbook, please visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com.