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Falling in Love Again with Faces From the Past

Falling in Love Again with Faces From the Past
A portrait of Keith Haring from 1985 is one of more than 30 portraits of artists and gallery owners from that era in a new show of older work by Jeannette Montgomery Barron.
Photo by Jeannette Montgomery Barron

A retrospective of Jeannette Montgomery Barron’s portraits from the 1980s is at the Patrick Parrish Gallery in New York City at 50 Lespinard St. until April  18. 

Low-key yet charismatic and powerful, Montgomery Barron moved to New York City from Atlanta, Ga., in the 1980s and quickly became part of the art and party scene, spending her evenings with Bianca Jagger, Willem Dafoe and others who helped make that era so lively and memorable.

Her photo portraits of artists and gallery owners are at the center of this retrospective show of her work. 

Current work can be seen at the gallery space she shares in Kent, Conn., with her husband, James Barron. 

To learn more about the show go to www.patrickparrish.com; to see newer work by Montgomery Barron, go to www.jeannettemontgomerybarron.com. Call ahead to find out if the gallery is closed due to coronavirus concerns.

Cynthia Hochswender

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Lelah M. Somers

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DOVER PLAINS — Lelah M. Somers, 97, a longtime Dover Plains, New York, resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, New York. Lelah was born on July 3, 1929, in Pawling, New York, to the late Byron and Lelah (Watts) Brill. Lelah grew up in Pawling and on Nov. 22, 1946, in Pleasant Valley, New York, she married James F. Somers, Sr. Mr. Somers passed away on Sept. 3, 1970. Lelah worked for New York State as a therapy aide for thirty-years and as a senior companion for New York State for thirty-two-years, with specific care provided to the mentally disabled.

She enjoyed taking care of the mentally disabled, was a wonderful mother to her four children, always putting her family first. She is survived by her son, James F. Somers, Jr. and his wife Donna of Dover Plains; two daughters, Doreen Monica of Wingdale, and Frances “Fran” Horton of Dover Plains, who was also her caregiver for many years; seven grandchildren, Debbie, Margie, Leah, Stephanie, Deirdra, Benji and Jimmy and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, and her step-son, Kenny Elliott. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelah was predeceased by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol “DeeDee” Maile and Gil Maile, her son-in-law, Stephen Monica, and her son-in-law, Benny Horton as well as her companion of over forty-years, Andrew “Mac” McAlravey and her siblings, Ferris Brill, Eleanor Barryann, Richard Brill, William Brill and Barney Brill.

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