Renata Rainer, a long-time resident of Irvington, died on June 24, 2026 at age 98.  Renata was born in Vienna, Austria on May 20, 1928, but fled to New York with her parents at the age of 12.  She went on to become a graphic artist, art teacher, photographer, and professor of photography.

          Renata’s artistic talent was first recognized when she was selected as a student at the High School of Music and Art in New York.  After completing her studies at Hunter College in 1949, she became a graphic artist for Newsweek magazine, and later for Design Techniques.  In 1967, she obtained a master’s degree in education from Columbia University, and went on to work as an art teacher in the Pocantico Hills Public Schools, and then at her own home studio in Irvington.

          In the early 1970s, Renata developed a passion for photography, and became a student of prominent photographers Ansel Adams and Barbara Morgan.  She went on to become a professor of photography at Marymount College and Manhattanville College.  She was also a founding member of the Ground Glass, a collective of talented photographers.  Renata’s own photographs were shown at galleries and museums in Westchester and Manhattan, and are today part of the permanent collection of the Hudson River Museum and the Lyndhurst Estate.

          After the death of her husband George Rainer in 2016, Renata moved to Kendal on Hudson in Sleepy Hollow, and was proud to show her photographs there as recently as 2025.  She is survived by her daughter Nina Price, of Palo Alto, California, and her son Andrew Rainer, of Boston, Massachusetts, as well as 5 grandchildren, Dr. Amy Murdock, Gwyneth Price Panos, Dr. Katharine Rainer, Alexander Rainer, and Juanzi Woo Rainer, and 3 great-grandchildren, Madison Murdock, Johanna Murdock, and Lorelei Panos.

 A Remembrance for Renata will be at 2 pm Friday, July 31 at Kendal on Hudson, 1010 Kendal Way in Sleepy Hollow.