Constance Burke Schnurr

VINTAGE, FRAMED,  PRINT of DELAWARE RIVER RIVERTON, NEW JERSEY.  FRAME MEASURES 13 1/2″  X 10 1/2″.  PRINT IS 8 1/4″ X 5 1/4″.  SIGNED NY ARTIST CONSTANCE BURKE SCHNURR. THIS  ALSO SHOWS THE RIVERTON YACHT CLUB and the TACONY / PALMYRA BRIDGE.

A chance search on eBay resulted in finding this marvelous framed print by a local artist who passed away in 2002.

Digging further, we found that published writer and artist Constance Burke Schurr produced several illustrations inspired by locations nearby and in Philadelphia.

She apparently also turned them into Christmas cards that she mailed to family and friends during the 1970s thru the 1980s.

Here are a few of Connie’s (as she signed them) delightful Christmas cards, as captured from the Constance Burke Schnurr website:

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The Crazy Lady 1969, Constance Burke Schnurr

The messages she included provide some insight into her motivation (124 Boxwood Lane was her Cinnaminson address, she worked at FMC Corp. near Rittenhouse Square as an advertising secretary, and she often drove by Riverton Yacht Club).

Her notes reveal that she sold some landscapes to a calendar company,  wrote a children’s book and that her husband, William Bernhardt Schnurr was an author and actor in local plays. His passing followed hers by only three months.

Listed in the World Biographical Encyclopedia, as a notable artist by Marquis Who’s Who, and a member of the Willingboro Art Alliance, Constance Burke Schnurr and her husband Bill obviously crossed paths with a lot of people in the area. If a reader can supply more information or photos about this creative duo, please email us at rivertonhistory@gmail.com.

Her obituary, as published in the Courier-Post, reads:

Age 70 on Sat. Dec. 21 2002 at her Cinnaminson home.
Born in Lynn MA Mrs. Schnurr was a 1953 graduate of Wellesey College. She was employed by FMC in Philadephia as an advertising secretary & she was also a secretary at Rockefeller University in New York. Mrs. Schnurr was a published writer & artist.
Surviving are her husband William & 8 nieces & nephews.
Relatives & friends are invited to attend her viewing Monday 7-9pm at SNOVER/GIVNISH OF CINNAMINSON 1200 Rt 130. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Lynn MA.

Solin Family’s Schnurr print

After inquiring of other members about the work seen on eBay, it turns out that two neighboring families own a print by Schnurr because their homes are in it!

That’s the Solin homestead on the left and Betten’s in the center. Pat Solin explains:

Many years ago, Barry and I went to our first Cocktail Social to benefit the library… at the Riverton Country Club. …we did not know that they held a silent auction. Breezing through the tables, I noticed a print of OUR house. We did not have our checkbook with us and, typically, just barely enough to pay the babysitter.  I put our bid on the picture with all we had on the two of us. Then I unashamedly hovered by the table, hoping no one else would bid on it. …we won this framed delight for our $5 bid. It hangs on the first floor of our home, and we love it.

Many more “delights” adorn the walls of area homes. Send us a photo, and maybe we’ll discover another local artist. -JMc

P.S. Oh, yeah… I bid on the RYC print but lost.

 

ARTIST CONSTANCE BURKE Spring Garden St School, Palmyra, NJ Alice Doerr Groome

 

Added 12/8/2022: Thank you to Alice Doerr Groome for sending this photo of another work by Constance Schnurr.

Published by

John McCormick

Teacher at Riverton School 1974-2019, author, amateur historian, Historical Society of Riverton Board Member 2007-2023, newsletter editor 2007-2023, website editor 2011-2023

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