Remembering Selma Bromberg

This fall, we mourned the loss of Selma Bromberg, a gifted fine artist and devoted printmaking instructor who taught at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education for more than 50 years. Selma’s decades of teaching left a profound and lasting impact on the visual arts department and the wider CCAE community. Her celebrated printmaking work reflected her eye for beauty in the natural world from New England to the American Southwest and beyond. She inspired a loyal circle of students and admirers, who expressed their sympathy and shared their fond memories of their beloved teacher.

"I am really grateful to have had Selma as a teacher and a friend. Her former student Emily Trespas recommended Selma as the best printmaking teacher around. Selma was always patient with me as a retired teacher who was a beginner at printmaking. She created a convivial but also serious atmosphere in her class and I really loved learning about her work while I developed my own skills. It was fun to host celebrations of Selma's art being shown at Blink gallery in Lexington. Her group of recent students continued to have tea over Zoom, an occasional lunch together, and hope to continue as a group of friends even now. Selma inspired this group of artists who became her friends." — Kathy Dalton

"As a student fairly new to printmaking at the time, I was so happy to have landed in Selma’s Friday morning sessions at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. It was such an open friendly atmosphere in the class, but a place of serious learning as well. It has also been a gift to us in the recent past that we were able to connect with Selma on Zoom. Her dedication during her time of health challenges has been an inspiration to all of us." – Mary Gillis

"Twenty years ago I retired to Boston, after fifty years of being a writer in New York city. I signed up for completely new things to learn: oil painting and, just for fun, printmaking. The oil paints have long since dried up in their tubes but the printmaking was absolutely unexpected and life-changing because of Selma. The people in her classes became good friends. Her entirely unique teaching brought me joy that is still vivid today. I am so grateful for all she taught me, the times she made me laugh, how brave and and how blessed with talent she was. How generous. How quiet. I will never forget the feeling, when I would be in class bent over a hopeless project, and suddenly realize Selma was standing looking over my shoulder. "What are you trying to do?" she would ask very quietly, slightly puzzled, but always interested. So grateful for her." – Jane O’Reilly

"Selma was a wonderful artist and a generous, patient, nurturing teacher. Our group worked happily together in a delightful bubble of creative discovery, good humor and interesting conversation - certainly Selma's magic. In my mind I can still picture the twinkle in her eye when she said something funny." – Janis Kaas

"Along with her gifts as an artist, Selma was a skilled, kind and persistent teacher. She also set up the CCAE printshop (twice!) so it worked; no small feat in our beloved old buildings. We are still using her curriculum to teach Monotype class on Fridays, and I will always feel Selma’s encouraging spirit of creativity and invention there. Her blue and white apron is still on the hook. Thank you, dear Selma — we miss you." – Laurie Sheffield