A Philly artist gets his first gallery exhibit at 91, and it’s a hit
Sid Weinberg, who made his first artwork when he retired as a pharmacist at age 56, was given his first ever exhibition by his family as a celebration of his life and art.
A good number of years have now passed since Sid Weinberg received a model of his Feltonville pharmacy as a gift from his loving wife, Marcia. Weinberg thought the artist who built the replica did a nice job — but maybe so could he.
So he built a model of his Northeast Philly home.
That first creation unleashed a passion and unearthed a talent that would go on to produce scores of artworks — both painterly and three-dimensional mixed media — that wowed family and friends alike. But Weinberg’s wonders, for the most part, didn’t leave his home.
This prolific artist never had a public showing of his work — that is, until Sunday.
At age 91.
“It’s tremendous,” said Weinberg, surrounded by well-wishers, including some he’d never met before. “I never imagined it — never in my weirdest dreams.”
Weinberg, who made his first artwork when he retired as a pharmacist at age 56, was given his first ever exhibition by his family as a celebration of his life and art. It was held at the Old City Jewish Arts Center.
Although Weinberg, who turned 91 on Aug. 31, said he’d never thought about showing his work, he wasn’t about to waste time on false modesty. Sunday afternoon, he was having a blast.
“When I told him we were doing this, he was the most excited I’ve ever seen him in my life,” said granddaughter Lindsey Pitts, 30, of Center City. When she told him reporters might be there, he called out to his wife, “Extra! Extra!”
His family has watched with a kind of awe as Weinberg’s gift unfolded over the years.
His is an unschooled talent. His daughters, he said, bought him some art classes at one point, but they bored him. You might say he’s preferred to go free range.
“Dad was a trash picker,” said his daughter Cindy Pitts, 62, of Margate, who planned the fete with her daughter, Lindsey, and her sister, Mandy Weinberg, 57, of Yardley. “I promise you he has never bought one frame.”
Weinberg, originally from South Philly, the son of a shoe salesman father and a mother who worked in a light fixture store, has found his inspiration in real life. His artwork features scenes from Bucks County and around Philadelphia, like one of the Italian Market Festival. But others depict his and Marcia’s many world travels: a gondola in Venice, a canal in Amsterdam, a street scene in Paris.
However, he said he has not been influenced by other artists. He can’t even think of any favorites, nor is he a big museum-goer.
“I went to a few. A lot of work, I didn’t like. I said, ‘What’s that doing in a museum?’ A lot of the work that people ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over, I just didn’t see it,” Weinberg said. “Mona Lisa didn’t really turn me on.”
If the artist himself seems like an original, his family would say you’ve got that right.
“A jokester, a lot of sarcasm,” said Mandy Weinberg.
“A practical joker,” said Pitts.
But a good man, too.
Robert Midiri, 66, came from the Coatesville area to the opening. He started working as a delivery boy for Weinberg at his Barton’s Pharmacy in Feltonville when he was 10 years old. It was Weinberg’s example that inspired Midiri to pursue a career as a pharmacist.
“He was such a good role model,” said Midiri, who is now semi-retired. “He was the best pharmacist I ever met. He was like the doctor of the neighborhood.”
Usually, Weinberg doesn’t like to celebrate his birthdays, said Pitts.
“He liked buying us gifts on his birthday,” she said. “We’d mention something we’d really like, and you’d get it from him on his birthday.”
But Sunday, in Weinberg’s honor, the family hired a van to bring his and Marcia’s friends from their Northeast neighborhood to celebrate with him. Afterward, all those artworks would go back to the Weinbergs’ condo, taking up almost all the wall space.
“It’s very difficult,” said Marcia Weinberg, 89. “It’s like a museum.
For her husband’s first and only art showing, however, there were plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’ Lots of laughs and lots of photos taken, too, including more than a few smooches between the Weinbergs, who will soon celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary. They celebrate every Friday the 13th to commemorate the day they met on a blind date in 1950.
Besides art and romance, Weinberg, who wore a tie he painted himself, had a couple suggestions for a lively life.
Walk every day, he said. And don’t think it’s too late for a first of anything.
“Try something new,” the artist said. “And if that doesn’t work, try something else. It’s good for the body, good for the mind.”