Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Born: c. 1932
Died:
Married: Judy
Children:
Ed Schaber was an artist who lived in Saranac Lake in the 1960s and '70s; he moved to Lake Placid in the 1980s. He was noted for painting landscapes. He gave classes in painting, and he donated a number of his paintings to be auctioned as fundraisers for various causes. He designed some of the buttons for Winter Carnival in the 1970s, as well as a mug that was sold to support the carnival. He also advertised his services as a house painter, interior and exterior.
One of the people he taught to paint was Lionel Bibeau.
Lake Placid News, July 15, 1962
Painting for Love and Money
BY LAURA VISCOME
Ed Schaber s talent, enthusiasm and alacrity with a paint brush have earned him a comfortable living as an artist for more than 15 years And the Keene resident has loved every minute of it.
His paintings, mostly Adirondack scenes, flora and fauna, can be found not only framed and hung over hundreds of fireplaces and sofas, but also on such varied items as table tops, clocks, pen sets, and mirrors With most of his sales made during arts and craft shows, it was only natural that during Lake Placid s two horse shows. Mr Schaber was found daily at his easel under the striped canvas of the show s Arts and Crafts tent.
Surrounding him were dozens of his most recent works, many completed during the show.
Striking in their uniqueness were three bench-style cocktail tables made of solid cherry and black walnut planks at least an inch thick with a Schaber original recessed into the top and protected by glass The tables are the work of Mr Schaber's close friend. Bob Reep of Pennsylvania.
While most of Mr Schaber's paintings sell for between $35 and $185, the tables are priced between $375 and $600, "because the wood and workmanship cost so much."
Mr. Schaber, who is left-handed, first picked up a brush while recuperating in an Army hospital about 30 years ago and has not put it down since. With a talent he claims he "inherited from my mother who did pencil drawings," Mr. Schaber has the unique ability to fill a good-size canvas with a pleasing and artistic work in less than an hour.
Because his works are pleasing to the public and are offered for sale in his handmade barnwood frames at reasonable prices, Mr. Schaber finds a ready market for them.
However, not all his works are paintings in the strictest sense. Some are barnwood-framed mirrors with his paintings inserted. And most recently there have been clocks mounted on slabs of butternut wood with paintings on them.
Mr Schaber s agility with a brush produced 60 of the paintings on the clocks in just two and a half days "When I was a teenager, Ed Schaber used to paint cartoon characters on all our sneakers," Lake Placid's Lorraine Von Dell said recently. "The sneakers are long gone, but I do have a winter scene of his hanging in the living room. Several years ago during one of the horse shows, I brought him a huge black iron kettle and he painted a winter scene on it for me."
"I really enjoy doing a special piece for someone," Mr. Schaber said as he picked up a framed painting resting on the ground near his feet. The painting was of a red fox peering out from beneath a tree.
'"One of the riders in the show brought me this photograph, and asked me to do a painting of it," he said as he produced a small color photo which was identical to the painting, even to the quizzical expression on the fox's face.
In addition to ex President Gerald Ford, who owns a Schaber, several local persons including Reg Clark and Kim Daby are owners of at least a dozen of Mr. Schaber's works. Some area persons have been lucky and won paintings which Mr. Schaber has willingly donated to worthy charities when time permits.
Mr. Schaber attributes his continuing success to his wife, Judy, who is employed at the Sunmount Developmental Center in Tupper Lake. They met when he was teaching painting at the Ray Brook Rehabilitation Center for Women Drug Addicts.
"She is very encouraging and supportive of everything I do and any new ideas I have," Mr Schaber said as be placed two strong vertical black lines on a wooden slab which was destined to become the base of a pen holder.
With several additional strokes of white and a few dabs of green added seconds later, two birch trees decorated the base.
'"And my stepdaughters, Sheryll, who is here with me, and Theresa, both students at Keene Central School, help me whenever they can," Mr Schaber said.
Over the years, Mr. Schaber, a member of the Mountain Artists of New York, has taught painting to groups and individuals when time permits, usually fitting the classes between arts and craft shows, a calendar of which he carries with him.
Throughout the year, he logs thousands of miles attending arts and crafts shows in such nearby places as the Empire State Plaza in Albany, and as far distant as Maine, Alaska and California. Most of the traveling is done in a station wagon heavily laden with his latest works and blank canvases for new paintings.
"One of my favorite shows is held each fall at Eagle Mills outside of Saratoga." Mr Schaber said. "It's a replica village of the late 1800's and is open only for a few weeks each year.
Mr. Schaber also considers the Lake Placid horse shows as an excellent place to exhibit his wares.
"During a show several years ago. I sold nearly $700 worth of paintings in a single day," he said "That's a rare day, but sales like that do make you return to a particular show each year.
Mr Schaber's painting are offered for sale in several shops and galleries in the area. And if a person really wants to see his entire collection a note to him in Keene will draw a ready response. His telephone is unlisted.
Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until you find him displaying his works at another Arts and Crafts Show.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 17, 1966
Edward Schaber, one of our local realistic artists, has started art classes in the vacant store in the Hotel Saranac on Academy Street. They will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays, and are for beginners. Mr. Schaber hopes that those who always wanted to paint in oil will avail themselves of this central location and come to the classes. He is also instructing students in the making of novelties made of cotton, felt and remnants of material which make amusing gifts. Framing is another specialty of his and those frames of rough wood are especially attractive.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 14, 1971
Winter Carnival booster buttons are here! They will be sold on the streets this weekend and will be available from Winter Carnival Committee member's and at the Chamber of Commerce and WNBZ. The painting by Ed Schaber of a winter mountain scene, from which the design for the Winter Carnival button was taken, has been presented to Mrs. Anita Riner.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 1, 1970
New Place in Town For Art Lovers
By JULIA FRANK
Where the Drutz Market used to be, on Bloomingdale Avenue, in Saranac Lake, there is now a shop with a bowl of fruit painted on the door. Inside is "The Palette Post", a combination art school and studio, recently opened under the management of Ed Schaber and Beverly Sharkey.
Most of the business goes on in a single large room, sparsely furnished but nonetheless cluttered with paintings covering the walls, an exuberant blue carpet, and the smell of turpentine. In one corner, a circle of [illegible]
Originally from New Jersey, Mr. Schaber has been teaching privately in Saranac Lake for the past six years. Most of his paintings are landscapes done from memory. "We have this beautiful area here," he says, "This is what I love to paint. The wilderness is my life."
The number of paintings [illegible] about attest to the fact that Mr. Schaber is a prolific artist. He paints extremely fast, up to 30 small pictures a day, on anything from velvet to [illegible]
