Anstis Burwell Lundy

Anstis Burwell Lundy was born in Plainfield, N.J. on Aug. 28, 1924. She died Nov. 20 in Houston, Texas.

The daughter of Aubrey and Russell Burwell, Anstis was the only daughter and middle child. She was the favorite grandchild of Congressman Eaton of New Jersey. Anstis was known as a master watercolorist whose work is in numerous corporate and private collections throughout the country and abroad.

Anstis began her art training in Paris at the Cours Fenelon in 1939. In 1940, she continued her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Art and finished in 1943, at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. During World War II, she worked as draftsman on top-secret projects for the U.S. Army. After the war, she settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. On a trip West in 1947, Anstis visited Aspen, beginning a lifelong love for the town, and moved there in 1958. She quickly became involved in the art scene there and befriended many of the artists and writers who congregated there after the war. Her love of the West and affinity for the sophisticated and free-thinking spirit of Aspen continued throughout her life. In 1955, she met her husband, Victor Lundy, a well-known modern architect, who was a speaker at an AIA Convention in Monterey, Calif. Friends joked that “the Irresistible Object had met the Immovable Force.” They were married Sept. 19, 1960 in New York City.

It was Anstis who introduced Victor to her beloved West. In 1974, Victor designed and built a studio/house in Aspen’s West End. It was one of the first truly modernist houses in Aspen and is now considered a masterpiece. Its conception and construction was a brave gesture by Anstis and Victor and represented their response to the beauty of Aspen. Anstis loved living in the house and spent every summer there until last year. She was one of the founding teachers at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center and taught there for nine years. Her watercolor class, taught at the house, was one of the most highly anticipated events of the summer and introduced the wonders of the medium to countless students, many of whom continue to paint.

Anstis resumed painting seriously in her 50s, after her two sons were grown and after she and Victor had moved to Houston, Texas. She studied watercolor at the Glassell School of Art with Arthur Turner and was reinvigorated with possibilities of the medium. Anstis fell in love with Houston and she and Victor eventually built and house and studio in Bellaire as well as renovating a house in Marfa, Texas, well known there as “The Rock House.” She continued refining her work and had her first show in Aspen at the Patricia Moore Gallery in 1982. In 1984, she began showing at the Moody Gallery in Houston alongside her friend and former teacher. Her love of painting and art in general was eclipsed only by her gift for communicating the subtleties of her personal life and beliefs through the technically difficult medium of watercolor. She quickly became known as a master watercolorist and subsequently had shows of her work in the Evelyn Siegel Gallery in Fort Worth, Katerina Rich Perlow Gallery in New York City, The Aspen Institute in Aspen, The Monticello Fine Arts Gallery in Fort Worth, Ballroom Marfa (with husband Victor) to name a few. She was represented by the Moody Gallery and had ongoing exhibitions there. Between 1982 and 2004, she had 18 solo exhibitions throughout the country and approximately 10 group exhibitions.

Anstis’s love for her work and her love of her many friends was legendary. She had a generosity of spirit and radiance that permeated her life and those around her. Her ability to express beauty through her work and through her love and loyalty to her family and friends leaves a legacy that will continue forever.

She is survived by her husband, Victor; their son, Nicholas and his wife Katharine Ciric; grandsons Jackson and Hudson; her son Mark Atchley and his wife Bonnie Phippen; and her brother, Richard Burwell.

Our beloved Anstis died on Nov. 20 2009 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston.

The family wishes to thank our wonderful friends for their love and support.

A memorial service is being planned for early 2010.

In lieu of usual remembrances, donations in Anstis’ name may be directed to: The Glassell School of Art, P.O.Box 6826, Houston, TX 77265-6826.