Diane H. Macdonald

Born and raised in Fostoria, Ohio, Diane attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. After deciding, at the age of 20, that New York City was the only place to be an artist, she applied for and was awarded a tuition-free education at the Cooper Union School of Art where she received instruction from nationally known artists. While attending Cooper Union at night, she worked full time in the Art Department of McCall’s Magazine. It was during this time that she met her beloved future husband with whom she would share life for 62 years.

Diane and Jim settled in Englewood, New Jersey where she took a sabbatical from her art career to raise their three children. When she reemerged into the world of art, she resumed painting and drawing and became passionately involved in artist groups including SALUTE to Women in the Arts and the National Association of Women Artists. Along with being featured in solo shows, Diane’s work was also accepted into a number of juried shows and exhibitions in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area. Her pieces won recognition and were awarded prizes, including the Alice Neel Memorial Award at the N.A.W.A. Annual Show.

Primarily an oil painter, Diane also worked in acrylics, watercolor, ink, charcoal, pencil, and even clay. Her art, mostly semi-abstract and rich in vibrant color, was a reflection of her joy in the world around her. From the late 1940s until she moved to Texas in 2021, her favorite place to paint and draw was New York City’s Bryant Park where she found endless inspiration in the park’s musicians, dancers, chess players, children, and lunch hour loungers.

Along with her beautiful art, Diane will be remembered for her kind, loving, and generous spirit.

Diane was predeceased by her husband, James A. Macdonald and her brother, Michael G. Hillier. Diane is survived by her children, Melinda Twomey and her husband Barry of Austin, Texas; Christopher Macdonald, M.D. of San Antonio, Texas; and David Macdonald and his wife Lara of Arlington, Virginia. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Paul, Margot and her wife Clarissa, Laura, Mark, Kimberly, Abigail, and Zachary.

Diane’s family would like to express our heartfelt thanks to those who, with loving and gracious hearts, cared for her during her last years. They include her granddaughter Margot; her personal caregivers Gabi, Lisbeth, Daphney, Rosa, Mary Jo, and Maryann; Christy and Hugh of Suncrest Hospice; and the caregivers, med techs, nurses and other staff of The Reserve at Lake Austin.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, November 23, at the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, 150 East Palisade Avenue, Englewood, New Jersey, with a reception to follow at the Clinton Inn, 145 Dean Drive, Tenafly, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Diane’s memory to the National Association of Women Artists or the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood.