Judith Kingsley Fitting

JUDITH KINGSLEY FITTING
Born April 6, 1930, in New York City, NY; Died January 22, 2022, in Santa Fe, NM.
Judy Kingsley Fitting left us on a clear Santa Fe Saturday morning, January 22, 2022. Judy was born April 6, 1930, in New York City to her parents Fred and Minna Gladstone. She married Ted Kingsley, a young real estate builder, on October 26, 1950, with whom she had two daughters: Ellen Kingsley Hirschfeld and Melinda Kingsley Nester, both journalists and illustrators. Cancer took early the life of Ted in May 1964, and later her cherished and accomplished daughters.
Judy married on April 9, 1976, Jack Fitting, Jr., a U.S. Army Air Force pilot who flew in the Pacific theater during WWII. Jack and Judy lived on Marco Island in Florida for a time, then moved to Quail Run in Santa Fe. Soon thereafter, Jack also succumbed to cancer December 1997.
Judith was recognized for her lyrical and compelling landscape, seascape, and abstract paintings in oil on canvas, and for her watercolors, featuring Asian, and contemporary art.
Judy described her creative process-a legacy for young painters: "My paintings are usually started with no preconceived idea of what the final subject will be. Eventually an image emerges, and a certain feeling of inner elation tells me that this is my subject. It is often a recollection of a place that I have visited and been inspired by-or it is a concept that intrigues me. Painting is to me a glorious adventure of investigation, discovery and decision."
Judy's talent was enhanced by her studies under the guidance of Zoltan Hecht at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the Parsons School of Design in New York, Adelphi University; the Pratt Institute, Crouse College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University where she graduated with a degree in Fine Arts; The Art Student's League; The Institute of Modern Art; and The National Academy of Fine Arts. She soon spread her wings to Europe, studying at the Positano Art Institute in Italy.
On her return to the states, she had numerous one-woman shows in New York City. A few were at the New Gallery at The New School, The Memorial Library Gallery, at The Galerie Internationale, The Weiner Gallery, and at the Bergdorf Goodman Art Galleries.
In Palm Beach, Florida, she has shown at The Gemini Gallery, The Ambassador Gallery, and the Palm Beach Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, at "The Gallery" in Pompano Beach at the Cypress Plaza Art Gallery; the Darvish Collection in Naples, Florida, and in Miami Beach at the Crystal House Gallery. She has also participated in group exhibits at the Lobster Pot Gallery in Nantucket, and the Priscilla Harley Gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, and the Fortnum Mason in London, England, as well as the Tadu Gallery, Monkey Tree Gallery, and La Galeria de Santa Fe art galleries in Santa Fe
Judith was very proud to have been included in "Who's Who of the World,", "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in the South and Southwest," and "Who's Who of American Women."
In commemoration of "International Women's Year," her work was chosen for the International Women Artists' traveling slide exhibition.
Her paintings are included in private collections in London; The Hague; New York; New Jersey, Florida; California; Georgia; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Canada. They have been represented in galleries throughout the United States and Europe.
Her art prints have been exhibited in numerous museums, such as the Houston Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Los Angeles Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. where two of her paintings: Spring and Azaleas in Spring are in their permanent collection, and the New Mexico Museum of Art.
So that others could enjoy her art, Judith had greeting cards made of her paintings. Her many friends would delight in getting a card from her for a celebration and would save them to make collages, or would purchase a painting. She was fascinated "by the strength of the mountains, the power of the sea, and the changes in the color of the landscape with the seasons." She supported the artistic culture of Santa Fe and loved its natural beauty.
In memory of her loved ones, she generously donated an oil painting Sun Breaking Through to the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center, at its grand opening under Cheryl Willman, M. D., Director. In a printed report of the celebration, the reporter describes that the painting "captures the breathtaking moment when the sun parts the clouds and shines the healing light. She [Judy] believes cancer patients live this moment all the time, moving through dark days to the promise of the sun's return."
As Judith was a member of Congregation Beit Tikva for 20 years, a gathering to memorialize her will be held Wednesday, February 2, at 2 p.m. at the Congregation Beit Tikva, 2230 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM, 87502-0094.
If you wish to make a donation to Congregation Beit Tikva to honor Judy and how art helps to heal sorrows, please use the P.O. Box 24094 mailing address, or use its secure online donation form: www.beittikvasantafe.org/contactinfo/. For more information, contact Rabbi Martin W. Levy, officeadmin@beittikvasantafe.org, 505.820.2991.