Dr. Harry Blum, 105, doctor, artist

Dr. Harry Blum of Southbury, a former Ridgefielder who left medicine at the age of 95 to spend more time at art, died Sunday, March 14, 2004, at his home. He was 105 years old.
When Dr. Blum had the first major showing of his paintings in 1999 at a New York City gallery, it was more than an average art-world milestone. Dr. Blum was 100 years old.
“I’ve learned a lot over the past 65 years,” he said. “I paint whatever I feel, and I don’t think I copy anyone.”
But painting past 100 is hardly the only example of Dr. Blum’s energy. He didn’t retire from his medical practice until the age of 95. At 101, he was still driving — the state Motor Vehicle Department found his eyesight was 20-30 when he was about to turn 100.
A native of Russia, Dr. Blum was born on Christmas Day in 1898, and came to New York when he was seven years old. He graduated from New York University School of Medicine and maintained a successful ear, nose and throat practice in Brooklyn until 1994.
He began painting at the age of 35 under the tutelage of a French artist and almost immediately won an award from the San Francisco Museum of Art. But it was not until he was 95 that he was able to take up painting full time.
He and his wife, Reggie, came to Ridgefield in 1943 and had a home on Route 7 between New and Stonehenge roads for 50 years. From the 1950s into the early 1970s, they operated a well-known mink farm on the property.
In 1995, the Blums moved to Heritage Village in Southbury. Mrs. Blum died in 1999.
At 102, Dr. Blum was still painting and showing his work.
“I have no plan to retire from painting,” he said. “It keeps me young.”
Services took place Tuesday at B’Nai Israel Temple in Southbury.
Burial was in Beth David Cemetery, Elmont, N.Y.