Louis Schneider, butcher And Urban Painter, 89

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Louis Schneider, who won an award in a Boston Arts Festival contest
judged by realist painter Edward Hopper in the early 1960s, died
January 28, 2005, in a Newton [Massachusetts] healthcare facility, at
the age of 89.

Louis Schneider was a butcher with the soul of an artist. When he
wasn't cutting meat in the Broadway Market in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
he was creating brooding oil paintings of urban scenes.

"Very urbanish and a little melancholy might be the best way to
describe his paintings," his daughter, Ronna-Lee Breen of Wellesley,
said yesterday.

He was an amateur, but his work drew praise.
"I don't think he even knew who Edward Hopper was at the time," Breen
said.

Mr. Schneider, of Newton, also won awards at the Eastern States
Exposition in Springfield and the South Shore Arts Festival in
Cohasset.

The son of Polish immigrants, Mr. Schneider was a practical man. "I
don't believe he ever thought of pursuing art as a career," Breen said.
"He grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Everett
[Massachusetts]."

He did not begin painting until he was 46. "My mother thought he needed
a hobby," his daughter said.

Mr. Schneider took a couple of art classes at the adult education
program at Everett High School. "He only lasted for two classes," Breen
said. "Then they told him not to come back, because he was better than
the teacher. "

Mr. Schneider owned and operated the Pioneer Market on Holland Street
in Somerville and later was meat manager of the Broadway Market in
Cambridge. His customers included Julia Child and the president of
Harvard. "He enjoyed chatting with the customers and was very outgoing
at work," his daughter said. "But he was very quiet at home."

After his retirement about 20 years ago, Mr. Schneider fulfilled a
lifelong dream and attended college.

"He always felt bad that he didn't have a college degree," Breen said.
"But he couldn't afford college when he was a boy."

At 72, he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Framingham State
College.

"He was always interested in what made people tick," Breen said.

His other daughter, Janice Zabara of Plainville, Conn., said yesterday
that "he was a very deliberative, thoughtful man who chose his friends
carefully. He wasn't a partier, and he didn't drink."

Zabara said that for her father, neatness counted. "He always dressed
neatly and was very particular about how his house looked," she said.
"He wanted everything to be color-coordinated and just so."

Mr. Schneider created dozens of oil paintings and proudly exhibited
many of them in his house. "He couldn't bear to sell them," Breen said.
"He said they were like family."

In addition to his daughters, he leaves three grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.

Boston Globe