b. 1916 d. 2017
Site Affiliation: Stone Quarry Art Park (Dorothy Riester House and Studio)
Dorothy Winner Riester (b.1916, d.2017) married Robert Andrew Riester in 1938 after they both graduated from college. Initially, they lived in Irwin, PA and then moved to Syracuse. In 1958 they purchased land at the top of Stone Quarry Hill in Cazenovia. Dorothy designed the house that she and her husband built, living in it permanently from the 1960’s.
Dorothy did her undergraduate work at Carnegie Mellon University and graduate work in ceramics at University of Pittsburgh; she received her Master’s Degree from Syracuse University in Sculpture and Design. She had an extensive teaching career at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University and Cazenovia College. She lectured nationwide and wrote Design for Flower Arrangers, published in 1959. Dorothy was a lifelong artist. She saw her greatest accomplishment as the Founder of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia NY in 1991.
Primary Medium: Sculpture
Primary Stylistic Term: Abstract
HAHS Affiliations: It is believed that Dorothy Riester toured Russel Wright‘s Manitoga as she was creating Stone Quarry.
Fun Fact: Dorothy lived to the age of 100. She made art just about every day of her life and knew from age 5 she wanted to be an artist.
Recommended Publications: The Art and the Land, Dorothy Riester (2006); The Art of a Life, Dorothy Riester: A Memoir as told to Victoria Kennedy (2015); Design for Flower Arrangers by Dorothy M. Riester (1971)