Marie Sturken, an artist and longtime resident of Princeton, died peacefully at home at the age of 96. She was still creating and exhibiting her art well into her mid-90s.
Born to Susan and Richard Ryan of Stamford, Connecticut, she drew early inspiration from her father, a printer at Condé Nast and a freelance artist for the local paper. After graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, she studied in New York City under well-known magazine illustrator Mario Cooper at Grand Central School of Art and attended Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. She began as a fashion illustrator at McCall’s and the Abraham & Strauss store, and after marrying Robert Sturken, an engineer with DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, she found her “dream job” as head fashion illustrator for the John Wanamaker department store in Philadelphia.
In 1962 she and Bob and their three children moved to Princeton. After working in oil painting, Marie took up printmaking, joining a group of artists studying under printmaker Judith Brodsky who, as the Queenston Press, created works including the “Woman” portfolio that opened at the New Jersey State Museum in 1979. She began working in monotypes and handmade paper which remained her primary media throughout her career. A founding member of the Princeton Artists Alliance, she taught printmaking and lithography at the Princeton Art Association and handmade paper at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey. A retrospective of her work was held at Rider University in 2015. Her work is in the collections of the New Jersey State Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Newark Library Print Collection, Princeton University, and many others.
Marie was full of life, loved to travel, socialize with others and learn new things. She was a devoted member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton. She will be missed by many.
Marie was predeceased by her beloved husband Bob. She is survived by her sister Barbara Wild, children Barbara Peterson and husband William, Carl Sturken and wife Cheryl-Anne, and Marita Sturken and husband Dana Polan, and grandchildren Kelly Sturken, Leigh Peterson, Kyra Sturken, Moira Peterson, and Leo Polan.
Memorial service on Saturday March 10, 2018, at 2 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, followed by a reception at the Nassau Club. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her honor may be made to Goals of Care, http://www.goalsofcare.org/donate/ and the Arts Council of Princeton, http://artscouncilofprinceton.org/donate/.
