Elaine Finsilver was 19 years old when she moved to the city to be a dancer and an artist. Her 21-year-old roommate Andy Warhol had similar dreams.

“Call it my 15 minutes of fame,” said Finsilver, now in her 80s and an artist and art teacher at one of Westchester’s Jewish Community Centers. “Andy was an inspiration to me.”

Like other artists in Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART show, which celebrated its opening on June 6, it took Finsilver, a former dancer, a while to get around to putting her passion to canvas. The exhibit featured the works of 37 Westchester artists over age 55, many of whom harbored a lifelong love of art but only began painting and drawing later in life.

For Madge Scott, it was the stress of family illnesses and other conflicts that inspired her, in the late 1990s, to rescue a paint set her daughter had just thrown out.

“I put it aside, and when I had difficulties, I turned to the painting,” said Scott, who started by teaching herself to draw dresses and who now makes a living with her historic and folk art. In January, she received Westchester County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Now in its fifth year, Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART provides a unique opportunity for older artists and the public to celebrate and support creative aging through the arts. It is co-sponsored by the University, the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation, and Greenburgh Arts and Culture, which also sponsors the show at two other Westchester venues.

While many of the artists were first-timers in the juried show, Phil Wallace, FCRH ’54, was back for a fifth year to display his works. His painting of the Cliffs of Mohr situated on the West coast of Ireland, was meant to “capture the emotion of being there.”

“It is a great form of expression,” said Wallace, who took up painting when he retired 25 years ago. “When I am painting I can’t think of anything else but what I am doing, so it takes me away from all my surroundings, I get completely absorbed. It’s a good thing.”

Another late bloomer, Peter Diaferia, 85, did his first watercolor when he got out of the Marines in 1946. He did his second in 1986.

In between, he worked as a graphic and animation artist, creating the opening segments for shows like Monday Night Football. He recalled hand-lettering movie titles and doing animation, which required 24 drawings for each second.

“Everything was so exact in graphics and animation. Now I am trying to get loose,” said Diaferia, who likes the “technique of using a wet piece of paper, and water colors.”

Creating art may be a solitary experience, but Paula Masterson, 73, makes it a community-building and comfort-bearing activity. Masterson said she gives most of her paintings away. Her Funky Rooster, on display, was a gift to a sister-in-law going through one of life’s rough patches.

“It made her smile,” said Masterson. “We had a good laugh over it.”

Grant Grastorf, Westchester campus academic operations administrator, said that sponsoring Matters of the HeART helps realize the University’s mission of building bonds within the surrounding communities.

“And our diverse body of students appreciate seeing the grace of age through creative arts when they walk through the door.”

The exhibit ran through June 14.

“Call it my 15 minutes of fame,” said Finsilver, now in her 80s and an artist and art teacher at one of Westchester’s Jewish Community Centers. “Andy was an inspiration to me.”

Like other artists in Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART show, which celebrated its opening on June 6, it took Finsilver, a former dancer, a while to get around to putting her passion to canvas. The exhibit featured the works of 37 Westchester artists over age 55, many of whom harbored a lifelong love of art but only began painting and drawing later in life.

For Madge Scott, it was the stress of family illnesses and other conflicts that inspired her, in the late 1990s, to rescue a paint set her daughter had just thrown out.

“I put it aside, and when I had difficulties, I turned to the painting,” said Scott, who started by teaching herself to draw dresses and who now makes a living with her historic and folk art. In January, she received Westchester County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Now in its fifth year, Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART provides a unique opportunity for older artists and the public to celebrate and support creative aging through the arts. It is co-sponsored by the University, the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation, and Greenburgh Arts and Culture, which also sponsors the show at two other Westchester venues.

While many of the artists were first-timers in the juried show, Phil Wallace, FCRH ’54, was back for a fifth year to display his works. His painting of the Cliffs of Mohr situated on the West coast of Ireland, was meant to “capture the emotion of being there.”

“It is a great form of expression,” said Wallace, who took up painting when he retired 25 years ago. “When I am painting I can’t think of anything else but what I am doing, so it takes me away from all my surroundings, I get completely absorbed. It’s a good thing.”

Another late bloomer, Peter Diaferia, 85, did his first watercolor when he got out of the Marines in 1946. He did his second in 1986.

In between, he worked as a graphic and animation artist, creating the opening segments for shows like Monday Night Football. He recalled hand-lettering movie titles and doing animation, which required 24 drawings for each second.

“Everything was so exact in graphics and animation. Now I am trying to get loose,” said Diaferia, who likes the “technique of using a wet piece of paper, and water colors.”

Creating art may be a solitary experience, but Paula Masterson, 73, makes it a community-building and comfort-bearing activity. Masterson said she gives most of her paintings away. Her Funky Rooster, on display, was a gift to a sister-in-law going through one of life’s rough patches.

“It made her smile,” said Masterson. “We had a good laugh over it.”

Grant Grastorf, Westchester campus academic operations administrator, said that sponsoring Matters of the HeART helps realize the University’s mission of building bonds within the surrounding communities.

“And our diverse body of students appreciate seeing the grace of age through creative arts when they walk through the door.”

The exhibit ran through June 14.

Elaine Finsilver was 19 years old when she moved to the city to be a dancer and an artist. Her 21-year-old roommate Andy Warhol was pursuing similar dreams.

“Call it my 15 seconds of fame,” said Finsilver, now in her 80s and an artist and art teacher at one of Westchester’s Jewish Community Centers. “Andy was an inspiration to me.”

Like other artists in Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART show, which celebrated its opening on June 6, it took Finsilver, a former dancer, a while to get around to putting her passion to canvas. The exhibit features the works of 37 Westchester artists over age 55, many of whom harbored a lifelong love of art but only began painting and drawing later in life.

For Madge Scott, it was the stress of family illnesses and other conflicts that inspired her, in the late 1990s, to rescue a paint set her daughter had just thrown out.

“I put it aside, and when I had difficulties, I turned to the painting,” said Scott, who started by teaching herself to draw dresses and who now makes a living with her historic and folk art. In January, she received Westchester County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Now in its fifth year, Fordham Westchester’s Matters of the HeART provides a unique opportunity for older artists and the public to celebrate and support creative aging through the arts. It is co-sponsored by the University, the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation, and Greenburgh Arts and Culture, which also takes the show to two other Westchester venues.

While many of the artists were first-timers in the juried show, Phil Wallace, FCRH ’54, was back for a fifth year to display his watercolors. His painting of the Cliffs of Mohr situated on the West coast of Ireland, was meant to “capture the emotion of being there.”

“It is a great form of expression,” said Wallace, who took up painting when he retired 25 years ago. “When I am painting I can’t think of anything else but what I am doing, so it takes me away from all my surroundings, I get completely absorbed. It’s a good thing.”

Another late bloomer, Peter Diafeira, 85, did his first water color when he got out of the Marines in 1946. He did his second in 1986.

In between, he worked as a graphic and animation artist, creating the opening segments for shows like Monday Night Football. He recalled hand-lettering movie titles and doing animation which required 24 drawings for each second.

“Everything was so exact in graphics and animation. Now I am trying to get loose,” said Diafeira, who likes the “technique of using a wet piece of paper, and water colors.”

Creating art may be a solitary experience, but Paula Masterson, 73, makes it community-building and comfort-bearing activity. Masterson said she gives most of her paintings away. Her Funky Rooster, on display, was a gift to a sister-in-law going through one of life’s rough patches.

“It made her smile,” said Masterson. “We had a good laugh over it.”

Grant Grastorf, Westchester campus academic operations administrator, said that sponsoring Matters of the HeART helps build on the University’s mission of building bonds within the surrounding communities.

“And our diverse body of students appreciate seeing the grace of age through creative arts when they walk through the door.”

The exhibit runs through Friday, June 14. The campus is located at 400 Westchester Ave. in Harrison, N.Y.

“Matters of the HeART: Supporting Creative Aging Through the Arts,” is the latest in an annual series of exhibitions by Westchester artists who are 55 years and older. The artists and their friends and family members attended an opening reception for the show on June 4. It marks the first time that Fordham has hosted the series.

“Our mission is to foster and support creativity in older artists in Westchester County,” said Karen Sevell Greenbaum, chair of the exhibition, who works with the Westchester Center for Creative Aging (WCCA). “The art that you see here speaks to healthy aging.”

The show will remain at Fordham Westchester through June 11.

Greenbaum said that the exhibition of older artists’ work, now in its fifth year, is refreshing because it includes the efforts of lifelong professional artists alongside the work of first-time presenters.

“Artists tend to be solitary,” she said. “This exhibition works into our agenda of connecting and supporting older adults through their artistic interests.”

Fordham Westchester was the third stop for “Matters of the HeART,” which was funded by the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation and presented by the WCCA. The show opened in the spring at the town hall in Greenburgh before arriving at the Andrus-on-Hudson Community of Elders in Hastings-on-Hudson.

That the show came to Fordham is the latest indicator of the University’s strengthening presence in Westchester County.

“We want to be a place where the community can be a part of our campus community,” said Carol Gibney, associate director of campus ministry at Fordham Westchester. Gibney said the campus is eager to host more exhibitions, including an upcoming presentation on the theme of “holy longing.”