THE GODDESS: That’s the title of this work by the late Jeanne Calo who will be remembered as a talented artist and generous spirit at an exhibition and sale of her work at the Princeton Senior Resource Center at 45 Stockton Street this Sunday, April 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. Ms. Calo donated her artwork to the Center and the exhibition of her colorful and highly stylized works will be on view through Friday, April 24. For more information, call (609) 924-7108; or visit: www.princetonsenior.org. (Image Courtesy of PSRC)

The life and artistic creativity of the late local artist Jeanne Calo will be celebrated at the Princeton Senior Resource Center (PSRC) with an opening reception for an exhibition and sale of her work this Sunday, April 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. The public is invited to view Ms. Calo’s vibrant paintings, the sale of which will benefit the Center.

Ms. Calo, who passed away at age 98 in the spring of 2014, was a longtime resident of Princeton; she donated her paintings to the Center.

Born in Tunis in 1916, Ms. Calo took up painting later in life following a career at The College of New Jersey where she taught French. She traveled widely in Tunisia, Mexico, Ecuador, Indonesia, Morocco, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Thailand, acquiring objects from markets, festivals, dance, and music events. Such finds served as inspiration for Ms. Calo’s paintings, imbuing them with the essence of the countries and the cultures of the artist’s travels. She was also influenced by her love of Gauguin, Matisse, Derain, and Bonnard.

By many accounts, Ms. Calo was a remarkable woman with an indefatigable spirit. Her friends remember her as modest, unassuming and genuinely surprised when her paintings were appreciated and sought out by museums.

Long before she became an artist, Ms. Calo lived in Tunis as a young wife and mother. She moved to the United States with her cardiologist husband and children in 1958. After teaching for a while at a private school, she enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in order to obtain a PhD degree so that she might pursue a career as a professor of French.

It wasn’t until her retirement at the age of 70 that she took up painting for the first time. It would become her major interest and a source of joy and achievement. According to her friend Paola Blelloch, Ms. Calo attended art courses at Mercer County Community College every week until shortly before her death last year. She studied under the famed New Jersey realist painter and teacher Mel Leipzig and discovered a favorite medium in acrylics. She quickly developed her own style which, said Ms. Blelloch, well-represented her personality. As artist, Ms. Calo favored strong colors and often added touches of humor.

Ms. Calo’s paintings have been exhibited in many museums and galleries. “Various institutions asked to exhibit her paintings which she did willingly, always giving the proceedings to charity,” said Ms. Blelloch.

“But her greater gift to me and her other many friends was the way she made each of us feel special, her optimism was contagious and her advice invaluable as it was always wise,” recalled Ms. Blelloch in a written account of her friend of 35 years. “The quality that can better sum her up is her ‘generosity,’ not only with presents that she gave to everybody in abundance, but with what she gave of herself. All her friends benefited from that.”

The exhibition and sale of Ms. Calo’s highly stylized works will be on view and available for purchase at the Princeton Senior Resource Center at 45 Stockton Street through Friday, April 24. For more information, (609) 924-7108; or visit: www.princetonsenior.org.