Artwork on display at Senior Center
By: Al Wicklund
MONROE Jennie Poris will bring her love of beauty and decades of artistic accomplishment to Castle Senior Living center this weekend with a four-day personal art show.
The show, "Oils on Canvas by Jennie Poris," opened Thursday and is scheduled to run through Sunday at Castle Senior Living on Forsgate Drive, next to the Holiday Inn on Route 32.
There will be a cocktail reception for the artist today (Friday) at 6 p.m.
Ms. Poris’ paintings will be on display each day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ms. Poris, in her 90s, has been a prolific, award-winning artist throughout her adult life, said her daughter, Amy Appleman.
In recent years she earned many awards, taking honors in four juried art shows.
More than 20 of her works are on display, including a mix of landscapes, still lifes and portraits.
Ms. Poris, an expert in the field of art history, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and attended Eastern District High School and Brooklyn College.
She was a gifted student and showed versatility beyond the field of art. In high school, she was class valedictorian and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, "The Daisy."
When Ms. Poris was a young girl, her mother, a skilled seamstress, stitched clothing for a nearby piano teacher in exchange for music lessons for her daughters, Jennie and Dorothy.
At the piano, Ms. Poris has been a source of joy through the years for relatives and friends. Her daughter said their family was accustomed to gathering around her to celebrate holidays and other happy occasions.
In 1928, Ms. Poris met and married Max Poris, a high school English teacher, who, in addition to his bachelor’s degree, earned a law degree from the New York Law School.
He taught at Tilden High school in Brooklyn for more than three decades before his death in 1963.
During World War II, Ms. Poris served as director of the Borough Park Volunteer Unit of the American Red Cross, coordinating the activities of hundreds of women in support of the war effort. At the end of the war, she was honored by the Red Cross for her outstanding performance and dedication.
Before her retirement, Ms. Poris worked for many years as the executive secretary for the New York City Board of Education. Her two children, Ms. Appleman and Steve Poris, are former New York City school administrators and both are college-level teachers. Steve Poris holds a doctorate in educational technology.
Ms. Poris has five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
The show at Castle Senior Living will be an opportunity for many family members to have a reunion celebration with their favorite artist.
There is no admission charge, and the show is open to the public. For more information, call (609) 409-7525.

