A powerful, compelling exhibit of paintings by Wyndmoor artist Frances Gilmore, at Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG) through the end of November, is almost impossible to erase from one’s consciousness long after viewing them. The paintings depict the mass starvation and destruction of Gaza, but what makes them even more interesting is that Frances Gilmore is Jewish.

Gilmore, who says she “never painted anything political before, mostly scenes of nature,” was asked how it is that she, as a Jew, is so critical of the Israeli government and military.

“That’s a fair question,” she replied. “I have never before had any inclination to paint human perfidy or suffering. I suppose it is because I am Jewish, and thus in some sense I feel like what Israel does is ‘in my name,’ that I was moved to do so. It has made me incredibly sad and angry to see this horror ... I needed to do these paintings in a way I have never needed to paint before.”

This is Gilmore’s first solo exhibit, although she has had paintings in Northwest Village Network shows. All of the paintings are acrylic except for “Ghosts of Gaza,” which is mixed media — acrylic, watercolor, pastel and ink.

To call Gilmore’s Gaza paintings disturbing would be an understatement. One, “Coming Soon: Riviera Gaza,” shows two twisted skeletons near a body of water; another, “Alone in Gaza,” shows a man kneeling, his hand to his forehead, surrounded by bombed out buildings; another, “Loss and Hope,” shows three faceless women grieving over three dead bodies.

Gilmore, who has lived in Wyndmoor for 16 years with her husband, John, was born in Connecticut but lived in Los Angeles until the age of 12 and then moved to a suburb of Washington, D.C. She has a B.A. in biology from Brown University (1967) and a master’s degree in industrial hygiene from the University of Pittsburgh (1981). She came to Penn State in the mid-1980s, teaching health and safety to blue-collar workers through their unions.

In 2005, Gilmore and her husband moved to Costa Rica, “when both of our careers hit dead ends about the same time. We decided to try a new adventure, and we stayed there for three years.

“It was a wonderful, though not easy, experience. We loved many things about Costa Rica, especially the friendliness of the people, the beauty of the place and its varied landscapes of mountains, jungle and sea. My husband wanted to stay, but I was unhappy being an expatriate, limited in my social life and what I could do by the language barrier and the large difference between Costa Rican and American culture.”

Regarding her artwork, Gilmore has taken a few classes over the years, and her talented father taught her some basics, but she is largely self-taught.

“I started painting,” she said, “because of my wonder at nature, painting mostly landscapes and birds in watercolor. I did some pastels of nature and also some scenes of Costa Rica. A couple of years ago, I took up acrylics, wanting the more forgiving medium (you can paint over what you don’t like, which you can’t do in watercolor) and also for the richer colors of acrylics.

“I also have done some collage and experimented with mixed media ... but by the end of 2024, I felt so much grief and anger about Israel’s war on Gaza that since then I have painted about nothing else.”

Gilmore’s paintings have attracted a great deal of attention, “all positive, to my knowledge,” she said. All of the paintings are for sale except for one, “Ghosts of Gaza,” which was sold at a Northwest Village Network show.

What is the best advice Gilmore, whose only close living relative is a sister, a retired doctor in New York City, ever received? “Try to approach other people with curiosity rather than with judgment.”

There will be a “Meet the Artist” event at MAAG, 7054 Germantown Ave., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2 to 4 p.m., with light refreshments. For more information, visit mtairyartgarage.org. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.