An artist and educator who helped shape CCP

Valerie Jesraly Seligsohn, 69, of Logan Square, an artist and educator, died Friday, Feb. 3, of heart failure at Hahnemann University Hospital.

Mrs. Seligsohn's paintings, collages, and drawings were shown in more than 25 solo exhibits and are in several museum and corporate collections.

In 2002, her mural Lake of Life, inspired by a lake view in Pike County, Pa., was installed in the Breast Imaging Center at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York.

In a statement on her website, Mrs. Seligsohn wrote: "Both in the northeastern mountain region of Pennsylvania and in the central region of Florida, in landscapes and still lifes, I record the visual experience. What has evolved is imagery that evokes a sensory, ephemeral feeling rather than a photographic recollection."

For more than 30 years, Mrs. Seligsohn was a professor of art and design at Community College of Philadelphia. She helped develop the school's art program and chaired the art department in 1988. Last year, she established the Valerie Seligsohn Achievement in Art Scholarship.

Judith Gay, vice president for academic affairs at Community College of Philadelphia, said in a tribute: "Professor Seligsohn was one of the art department's founding members. She started working at the college in 1968, teaching painting and drawing. She retired in 2002, having inspired countless students and teachers in her many years of service to the college."

Mrs. Seligsohn taught at Daytona Beach Community College while living in Ponce Inlet, Fla., for five years. After returning to the Philadelphia area in 2006, she maintained a studio on Callowhill Street and taught at Moore College of Art and Design.

In recent tributes, former students praised her dedication.

"She was devoted to helping people," her husband, Melvin Seligsohn, said, "and often counseled students about personal problems."

Mrs. Seligsohn grew up in Montclair, N.J. She attended the Norfolk Summer School of Art at Yale University in 1963; earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1964; and earned a master's degree in fine art from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. She was active with the PennDesign Alumni Association.

She and her husband met through mutual friends, married in 1972, and raised a family in Logan Square. In 1989, their 10-year-old son, Zachary, was diagnosed with brain cancer. The treatment left him impaired, and she became his caregiver, her husband said. Zachary Seligsohn died in 1997.

Mrs. Seligsohn loved the music and dance of her Armenian heritage and cooking Armenian specialties.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by a daughter, Abigail, and a sister.

A memorial service was Monday, Feb. 6, at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.

A retrospective of Mrs. Seligsohn's work will be exhibited at Conservation Studio for Art Gallery, 1818 Callowhill St., Philadelphia, at a future date.

Donations may be made to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, Lockbox 1352, Box 8500, Philadelphia 19178.

Contact staff writer Sally A. Downey at 215-854-2913 or sdowney@phillynews.com.