Rozsika Hetyei-Ascenzi

Rozsika “Rose” Hetyei-Ascenzi, Master Paselist of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, passed away on September 28 at the age of 90. She is the mother of Marion Duckworth Smith, owner of The Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead in Jackson Heights.
Hetyei-Ascenzi was born to Hungarian immigrant parents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
She was a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and the National Arts Club. She was also Member Emeritus of The Salmagundi Club.
She demonstrated her artistic abilities at a young age, winning a metal in the John Wanamaker Children’s Drawing Competition of 1927-28, when she was just 10 years old. She won the competition in 1929, and received a bronze metal from The Human Society in 1929.
She was a participant in invitational shows at The Societe des Pastellistes in Lille, France as well as the Hammond Museum in Salem, New York and the Lever House in New York City, among other places.
In 1994, she was named Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America.
Recently her art work has been used in calendars and note cards by Catch Publishing of the Neverlands and as fundraising cards for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans’ Association.
She was named honorable mention in a worldwide competition sponsored by The Pastel Journal at the age of 90.
She is survived by her sister Olga Smith, her daughters Marion Duckworth Smith and Lisa Aromi, and her granddaughters Eva Aromi and Leslie Granger. Her ashes were buried on October 20 at Lent-Rikee-Smith alongside her son, Charles Ascenzi, Jr.