The campus community mourns the passing of Neil Anderson, who died on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Neil retired from Bucknell in 1999, after 40 years of service, as professor emeritus of art. His wife, Connie Timm, is a Bucknell alum, class of ’66.
Neil had a kind and warm personality, and a boundless curiosity about his friends’ experiences and the world around him. After retiring from his career as professor of art he remained deeply committed to the discipline of painting, leading him to continue creating masterful works up to the end of his life. He was a dear friend and mentor, and he will be greatly missed
Included below is the complete text of the obituary, as provided by the family.
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On behalf of our entire University community, I extend our deepest sympathies to Neil’s family, as well as to all who knew him at Bucknell.
John C. Bravman
President
Neil Anderson died peacefully at home in Lewisburg on Sept. 29, 2021, from metastatic melanoma. An artist all his life, he began at age seven with drawing lessons at the Chicago Art Institute. That was followed by an AB degree from Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, in Art and an MFA from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
His work has been shown in numerous solo and group shows in museums and galleries in New York City (Fischbach Gallery, Greenberg Wilson Gallery), Philadelphia (Bridgette Mayer Gallery since 2003, and Larry Becker Gallery) and other locations in the U.S. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Susquehanna Art Museum.
He is survived by his wife, Constance A. Timm; and three sons from a previous marriage to Pauline Greene (Santa Monica, Calif.); Eric Anderson, (Los Angeles, Calif.), Benjamin Anderson, (Barrington, Rhode Island), Joel Anderson, (Santa Monica, Calif.); as well as three grandchildren, Lilah Esther Anderson, (Des Moines, Iowa), Seaver Anderson, (Barrington, Rhode Island) and Anthony Anderson (Los Angeles, Calif.).
A friend and member of a long-standing lunch group commented that Neil was “a special person who taught him about art as well as other varied topics.” Among those were the study of mushrooms, interest in Bill Evans and other Jazz musicians, the cultivation of moss gardens and architectural design. He recalled one story: Jasper Johns apparently told Brice Marden, to “paint all the way to the bottom of the painting” and not leave a white band at the bottom of the canvas.
Neil was employed for 40 years at Bucknell University in the Department of Art and Art History, teaching many students who continued to study art and work professionally in art fields. Since retiring in 1999, he painted full-time in his studio attached to his home on a wooded lot three miles from Lewisburg.
The family requests that donations be made to the Susquehanna Art Museum in honor and memory of Neil.