Ben Feldshuh: A Lifelong New Yorker and Artist
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Francisca Lorca
Born and raised in Williamsburg, New York, 88 year-old Ben Feldshuh had the opportunity to showcase and sell his paintings to the public after a video of him went viral on TikTok. The video shows how women from Hera — a company in NYC that matches professional healthcare workers to families in need of care for aging family members — met Ben by chance and learned about his work as an artist.
Paintings from all sizes (some as big as 5 to 6 feet tall) are seen in the video, bringing attention to social media and audiences from all ages. At the beginning, Feldshuh’s art showcase was going to take place at Hera’s office near Flatiron, but more people than anticipated signed up to attend. This led to a change in venue, taking place at The Sixth Floor Loft, located near Union Square.
Before retirement, Feldshuh worked as a professor of Psychiatry at NYU Bellevue Hospital; he would teach senior psychiatry residents before they go out on practice. His passion for art started at four years old. A teacher in kindergarten had an easel, which he used to paint a submarine on a canvas with watercolor paint. He remembers thinking: “a submarine is a big thing,” mentioning that it looked as real as one. Following his childhood experience, he fell in love with painting.
His teacher and mentor was Dr. Sam Adler — an educator at NYU from the late 40’s to early 70’s, as reported by the NY Times — and the one that Feldshuh keeps in mind when it comes to his painting technique. Towards the end of his classes with Adler, he decides to leave his mentor to explore his creativity freely. “‘You’re painting trees? Why are you painting trees, you should be painting people!’ I said to myself: ‘I don't want anyone else telling me what to do, what I should do, what I shouldn't do, I had enough [of] that with my parents (he laughs). I don't want more, I left him after that’.”
This doesn’t stop Feldshuh from moving forward with his paintings. 35 years ago he had an art show at a gallery that cost him $10,000 dollars, but no one bought his art. After that experience, he says, “I stopped thinking about the world agreeing with my paintings. I made my paintings without any concern for the world, discovering it, or hearing it, but I had to make it accurately to express myself. And it helped because I made good paintings, and I was trying to sell something and do something that was stylish, accepted. It was as radical as it can be, or usual as it can be, it was just me.”
After a successful night on February 19th, Ben sells all of his paintings. People line up to him and introduce themselves, drinks are served, and hundreds show up in support. On Hera’s TikTok page, there is a video that reveals people’s experiences when purchasing Ben’s art, as well as their own personal experiences in life and the art showcase.
When asked what he thinks about being noticed for all the work he has done, he answers, “I like it, but it took that particular show done by those wonderful women that got me out of my retired, unavailable state and made me visible.” Now, after being discovered, people from all ages show up to admire Ben’s pieces, which all represent different experiences and inspirations throughout his life.
“When you’re a painter, something touches something inside of you. You can hardly know ‘cause you can’t analyze the depth of it, but it just touches you, and you have to paint it, whether you like it or not (...). When an idea comes, it grabs you, holds you, you can’t get away from it.” Feldshuh’s plans for the future are to paint pictures, play blue’s piano, and read books. “I’ve got books in my mind that I wanna write, so I’ve got enough to take care of me for the next 10 or 15 years,” he says.
Francisca Lorca was born and raised in Chile and immigrated to the United States in 2015. She is a junior majoring in Political Science and Communications, with a concentration in journalism, and minoring in theatre. Francisca transferred to CCNY in the Spring of 2025, returning to college after ten years. She has also worked in catering and as a server for years before returning to college. While also being neurodivergent, Francisca is a mother who strives to serve as a role model for her daughter. Her interests include: investigative journalism and finding ways to support immigrant rights and uplift those with similar backgrounds and experiences, crocheting, reading plays, and theater.