Although the Carter family moved often, Debbie and her brother Frank lived in Pitcairn and Monroeville for about six years with their parents, Frank Sr. and Barbara.
Frank Sr. attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he studied chemical engineering. Frank’s high school sweetheart, Barbara Boyd, wanted to study art. She considered Pratt Institute in New York and another college in Maine, but ended up at Carnegie Tech’s College of Art, a year behind Frank.
Barbara studied under the same professors as Andy Warhol, who graduated in 1949.
“My mother said Carnegie Tech turned her into an artist,” Debbie Carter said. “She was very eager to learn.”
Barbara was born on Oct. 14, 1932, and grew up in Flemington, N.J. She came from a working-class family of house painters – which, Debbie considered, could be why her mother was drawn to painting old homes.
“Art was a passion of hers. She always thought of herself as an artist,” Debbie said, adding that her mother enjoyed rendering artwork for her school yearbook.
In June of 1954, Barbara and Frank married. Barbara also graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in pictorial design.
“She said ‘Carnegie Tech taught me how to think, not what to think’,” Debbie said.
The Carters lived in Pitcairn for three years. In 1963, they purchased property on Mountain View Drive in Monroeville. It was here that Barbara captured a valley and farm in a pastel painting which hung in the family’s kitchen. Another painting of Barbara’s, titled “Pewter antique pitcher,” hung above the fireplace.
In 1966, the Carters moved to La Grange, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. But Debbie always had fond memories of Pittsburgh.
“I was very happy living in Western Pennsylvania,” she said.
Barbara passed away on Feb. 23, 2019, at the age of 86. her daughter wanted to share her mother’s artwork, so it could be appreciated.
A pastel of the Old Stone Church in Monroeville was placed with the Heinz History Center, along with her student work at Carnegie Tech.
Debbie gifted the Monroeville Historical Society several of her mother’s paintings in May of 2023.
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“Debbie reached out via our website, looking for a permanent home for the paintings. She told me her mother’s story,” said Tracy George, historical society member. “I told her that we would be honored to have them.”
Debbie had all of the pieces reframed and used museum-quality glass, George said. Instead of shipping the artwork, she hired a driver to transport them from New York to the municipal building.
Today, eight pieces are at the McGinley House, the oldest stone house in Monroeville. It is believed to have been built in 1830 by John McClintock, a farmer and stonemason.
In 1975, the Municipality of Monroeville took ownership of the house at 2381 McGinley Road. The historical society is entrusted with its care. It opened as a museum in 1976 and is registered with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
Leslie Savisky is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.