Susanne Kilgore Arnold

She earned three degrees from Richmond Professional Institute/Virginia Commonwealth University: A BFA in 1963, an MFA in Painting in 1985 and an MA in Art History/Museum Studies in 1989.

During her long career, she taught at VCU and the University of Mary Washington and directed galleries for the University of Richmond, UMW, the Greater Reston Arts Center, and The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

A painter and sculptor, Susanne’s work has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout Virginia, as well as New York; Washington, DC; North Carolina; Washington State; and Milan, Italy. Solo exhibitions include the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Portsmouth Museum. She received numerous honors including a 1995 National Visiting Artist Residency and exhibition at the Montpelier Cultural Arts Center in Laurel, MD, two VMFA fellowships, and individual artist grants from the Ludwigh Vogelstein Foundation and the Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation. She was a board member of ArtSpace and a member of the emeritus council of 1708 Gallery.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy Follin Kilgore Rochlin; her father, Wilson Putnam Kilgore; her stepfather, Bernard Rochlin; and her brother-in-law, Roger Zieg. She is survived by her daughters, Claudia Arnold Brookman and Adrien Arnold Norton (Fred); her granddaughters, Madeline M. Brookman and Juliette E. Brookman; her sister, Cami Kilgore Zieg; her nieces Laura Zieg and Erin Zieg Azevedo (Billy), and their children Jackson Berger, Jacob and Hannah Rodrigues, and Mira Azevedo.

Claudia and Adrien would like to give special thanks to Dr. Brittany Craven and the nurses and staff of St. Mary’s ICU for their care and kindness. They helped Susanne go gently into that good night.

A retrospective and memorial gathering is being planned. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to VCU School of the Arts or VMFA’s Studio School.