Evelyn Keyser, 88, an artist with wood

Evelyn Keyser, 88, a renowned sculptor, died of heart disease Sunday, Feb. 13, at Rydal Park Retirement Community.

Mrs. Keyser's mostly wood sculptures have been represented in national and regional exhibitions, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and in a one-woman show in 1984 at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia.

In 1988, Inquirer art critic Victoria Donohoe wrote: "Keyser imparts a lyrical freshness to her carved wooden figures. She is interested more in emotion than detail, which is evident largely in the eye-opening richness and graining of the wood surface."

Mrs. Keyser executed eight public works of art for the City of Philadelphia, including an oversize bronze sculpture of a seated mother and child at a public library in South Philadelphia and an aluminum relief of two parents and their twin children on a wall at a public pool in Roxborough.

Born Evelyn Mokren, she grew up with an identical twin sister, Elsie, and three other siblings in South Philadelphia. She and her sister graduated from South Philadelphia High School and from Temple University's Tyler School of Art. Elsie became a painter in New York City. In 1988, the twins were paired at an exhibit at Tyler's Alumni Gallery.

"The work of both artists is intimately, endearingly human. The sisters shun the dramatic and bizarre to capture the integrity of the commonplace," Donohoe wrote.

In 1945, Mrs. Keyser married Gerson Keyser, an artist and illustrator. In the early 1950s, the couple built a contemporary home in Elkins Park designed by architect Norman Rice. Mrs. Keyser, who early in her career was a children's book illustrator, converted space in the garage for her studio. She and her husband raised two children in the home, which they filled with modern furniture and antiques.

Prominent sculptor and Tyler graduate Arlene Love was introduced to Mrs. Keyser by a Tyler professor. "Evy gave me wonderful advice when I was trying to balance my time and had a small child," Love said. "She told me, 'When you get up in the morning, don't stop to make the bed or do the dishes. Go right into your studio and use your best energy for your work.' "

Gerson Keyser died in 1974. Three years later, Mrs. Keyser married Milton M. Borowsky. They lived in Wyncote, but Mrs. Keyser continued to maintain the Elkins Park property as a gallery and studio. Borowsky died in 1997.

In 2003, at 81, Mrs. Keyser showed 28 of her recent sculptures in a one-woman show at Gallery Joe on Arch Street. She retired the next year, after her work was included in the Legacy of Excellence show, which featured artists in their 80s, at the governor's mansion in Harrisburg.

In addition to her sister, Elsie Manville, Mrs. Keyser is survived by a daughter, Deborah Dion; a son, Daniel; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and stepchildren Josey Stamm and David Borowsky.

A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks Memorial Chapel, 6410 N. Broad St., Philadelphia. Burial will be in Montefiore Cemetery, 600 Church Rd., Jenkintown.

Donations may be made to Abramson Hospice, Abramson Center for Jewish Life, 1425 Horsham Rd., North Wales, Pa. 19454.