Elaine B. Krause, artist and longtime Katonah resident

Elaine B. Krause

Elaine B. Krause, who lived in Katonah for 55 years, died in hospice care on Jan. 18. She was 82.

Krause was born to Stella (Banklian) and Arthur Bertelsen, who grew up in the Fort Lee Christian Home for Children as second-generation Americans.

Krause was raised in Weehawken, N.J., where she was valedictorian of her high school class in 1962. She graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts. In 1965, she eloped to Europe with the help of her old friend, Art Garfunkel, and married Paul B. Krause during his Fulbright fellowship there.

Besides exhibiting and selling her art to famous collectors, she taught art in public school, the State University of New York,  and locally. Her early work, informed by her Armenian ancestry and love of color, explored geometry in large-scale paintings.

Her family said that transforming her home into an artistic, harmonious refuge was her passion. She loved to rise at dawn, tend to her garden with a white coat and surgical gloves, sing tirelessly at the piano, and practice yoga. In her final years, her family said, she was quick to crack a joke, trusting her amazing caregivers and loving family to give her quality of life.

Krause is survived by her husband, Paul; daughter, Rachel (Sam); two grandchildren; siblings Carol and Arthur; as well as other family members. 

A memorial service will be held Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m., at the United Methodist Church, located at 5 Bedford Road, Katonah. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Katonah-Purdys United Methodist Church or the Armenian Missionary Association of America at amaa.org.