Old Saranac Railroad Station, 1985
Born: July 20, 1915
Died: January 20, 1988
Married: Dorothy Pitha
Children: Mrs. Jennifer Blumenfeld, Mrs. Roberta Walton
Stephen Story relocated to Saranac Lake from New York City in the late 1970s, after spending many summers in the region. He was a notable painter and restored artwork for prestigious organizations such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the New York Historical Society, the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. His skill was applied to works by Botticelli, Whistler, Rembrandt, Monet, Cezanne and van Gogh. Oil paintings of the Adirondacks by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait and Mrs. W. Averill Harriman's French collection also benefited from his care and expertise.
While residing in Saranac Lake, Mr. Story focused on creating his own artwork. In 1985, he painted the Union Depot in Saranac Lake. This painting, entitled "Old Saranac Railroad Station, Adirondacks, N.Y." was donated to Historic Saranac Lake in 1988 by the artist's daughters. This painting is currently on display in the Saranac Lake Free Library.
Mr. Story lived at 1 South Fairview Avenue. He restored paintings in the basement on a large table which remains there today.
He bought a house on Lake Simmond in Tupper Lake in 1964.
He was a World War II veteran.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 22, 1988.
Stephen S. Story, renowned artist
SARANAC LAKE - Stephen S. Story, 72, a well-known Adirondack artist and restorer of paintings, died Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
He was born July 20, 1915, in Brooklyn, the son of Stephen S. and Anna Story Sr.
He was married to the former Dorothy Pitha, who predeceased him. Mr. Story was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army.
A long-time summer visitor to the area, Mr. Story and his wife owned a summer camp on Simon Pond in Tupper Lake. Mr. Story had been a permanent resident of Saranac Lake for 10 years.
“To be able to live in this lovely community without fear. . .” was his greatest pleasure in moving to the Adirondacks, Mr. Story said in an interview soon after moving to the area from New York City, where his home had been broken into four times. “I have the free time to pursue my hobby — painting.”
Mr. Story did extensive restoration and preservation on many major works of art by artists such as van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Rembrandt, Whistler, Botticelli, and numerous others.
He restored and preserved works for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Natural History, the New York Historical Society, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others. Mr. Story also restored the entire French collection of Mrs. W. Averill Harriman in the 1950s, as well as a number of Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate's Adirondack oil scenes. He also painted a number of private commissions.
Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Peter (Jennifer) Blumenfeld of New York City and Mrs. Clyde (Roberta) Walton of Bronxville; one granddaughter, Laura Blumenfeld; and one grandson, Charles Walton.
Funeral services will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in New York City. A memorial service will take place in Saranac Lake at 3 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Keough and Son Funeral Home, with the Rev. Fredrick Dennis, rector of the Church of St. Luke the Beloved Physician, officiating.
Donations in Mr. Story's memory may be made to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center or the Saranac Lake Paint and Palette Benefit Fund in care of the Keough and Son Funeral Home.
Lake Placid News, August 15, 1990
Story's paintings coming to LPCA
An exhibition of 40 paintings by the late Saranac Lake artist Stephen Story (1915-1988) will open Wednesday, Aug. 22 and run through Sept. 10 in the Fine Arts Gallery at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.
The show was made possible through the efforts of the artists daughters. Mrs. Peter (Jennifer) Blumenfeld of New York City and Mrs. Clyde (Roberta) Walton of Bronxville in cooperation with the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.
A native of Brooklyn and a graduate of Pratt Institute, Story began restoring paintings for the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the depression. He established himself over a 47 year period as a preeminent restorer of fine paintings. He preserved priceless works of art for major museums in New York City, and for private galleries and collections, such as the Rockwell Kent Legacies in AuSable Forks.
Among the paintings he restored were works by Rubens, Hals, and Rembrandt, as well as Van Gogh, Monet, Winslow Homer, and Edward Hopper.
The care for his work extended even to the framing of his paintings. He insisted on the finest of frames. He was an expert in matching the painting to the frame, so that the frame enhanced the work and yet does not detract from its aesthetic quality.
Story's paintings show an interesting blend of traditional glazing techniques and contemporary thinking. While he was influenced by many of the artists he restored, his work has significant ties to the Impressionists. He depicts specific settings of the region and captures the light and mood of the area, thus making him truly an Adirondack artist.
He spent many summers with his family in the Adirondacks. After permanently moving to Saranac Lake in 1976, he painted full-time the landscapes and village scenes of this region until his death in 1988. He left a legacy of over 200 paintings.
His realism is not merely a photographic copying of what he saw, but an interpretive rendering of the setting. In doing so, he captured the ever changing climate, with its extreme temperature ranges, its sudden cloudbursts, unexpected fogs, or again sunny blue skies dotted with white clouds.
He has had numerous one-man exhibitions in the region and some of his works were acquired by the Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, and the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers. A future one-man exhibition is planned in the summer of 1992 commemorating the Adirondack Centennial at the Art Center/Old Forge.
Tupper Lake Free Press and Herald, January 27, 1988
Stephen Story dies Jan. 20
Stephen S. Story, 72, a long-time Tupper Lake summer resident who was widely known for his Adirondack paintings and for his work in the preservation and restoration of works of art, died Wednesday, January 20th at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
Mr. Story and his wife, the former Dorothy Pitha, who predeceased him, vacationed at their summer home on Lake Simond here for many years. The property is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Littlefield. Mr. Story resided during the past ten years at Saranac Lake.
He was born on July 20, 1915 in Brooklyn, the son of Stephen S. and Anna Story Sr., and was a veteran of World War II service in the U.S. Army.
Mr. Story was a long-time contributor to the annual art exhibit at Goff-Nelson Memorial Library.
He did extensive restoration and preservation work on many major works, including paintings by such renowned artists as Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Rembrandt, Whistler, and Botticelli. During his career he restored works of art for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society, as well as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others. Mr. Story also restored the entire French collection of Mrs. W. Averill Harriman in the 1950s, as well as a number of Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate's Adirondack oil landscapes. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Peter (Jennifer) Blumenfeld of New York City and Mrs. Clyde (Roberta) Walton of Bronxville; a granddaughter, Laura Blumenfeld, and one grandson, Charles Walton. Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in New York City. A memorial service took place at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan . 26 at the Keough and Son Funeral Home, Saranac Lake, with the Rev. Frederick Dennis, rector of the Church of St. Luke the Beloved Physician officiating.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, November 20, 1980
School still awaiting payment for use of fields during Olympics
SARANAC LAKE - Nearly nine months after the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Saranac Lake Central School District is still waiting to be paid for the use of its athletic fields.
School Superintendent Ernest Seifried announced Wednesday that yet another delay had been encountered in receiving payment. The Department of Transportation, which leased the fields from the school district, owes the school $12,500 for use of the fields as peripheral parking lots during the Winter Games.
The Transportation Department sent a letter to Seifried stating that payment was being withheld because state maps of the fields showed that the boundary lines presently used are incorrect. The state said that part of the land used for peripheral parking actually belonged to Stephen Story of Fairview Avenue.
In order to expedite the matter, the school had the fields resurveyed to insure that the fence surrounding the land actually enclosed only school property. The survey showed that the fence in the area in question was actually 11 feet inside school property at one corner, and 20 feet inside the property line at the other.
Seifried said that he had spoken with Story prior to the surveying, and Story had agreed to deed any land which belonged to him but was inside the fence to the school at no cost to the district, except for surveying expenses.
Seifried said that the survey results, along with the papers necessary to secure payment, had been sent to the state Several weeks ago, but that no response had been received.
Comments
2012-01-02 22:58:20 what would his paintings be worth? —24.25.179.230
2012-01-03 09:02:17 I tried to find an answer online without success. This seems to be the basic resource site, but they have no sales info on any of his paintings. —Mwanner
2013-02-16 13:53:58 Where can we find other paintings by Steve Story? —24.185.81.120
2013-02-16 16:24:43 You could try the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake or the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers. —Mwanner
