Judy Berkowitz, a bohemian New Yorker who was well known in Provincetown for a life of art and adventure, died on July 12, 2024 at the Throgs Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx. No cause was given for her death. She was 85.
Born on June 16, 1939 to Fanny (Fae) and Jack Berkowitz, Judy grew up in the Bronx and at her grandfather’s summer retreat in the Catskills. After graduating from City College in 1961, she moved to Manhattan and was a regular at Gerde’s Folk City on West 4th Street, where she met guitarist Bruce Langhorne, the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
Judy and Dylan were friends before he became famous. She told stories of the day he got his first record deal and of walking with him in the city “incognito,” with Dylan wearing a top hat.
Judy came to Provincetown for the first time in the summer of 1962. She and Langhorne lived in one of Sunny Tasha’s rustic cabins made of driftwood and salvaged materials. Their neighbors on Tasha Hill were bohemians and artists, including the late architect Alan Dodge, who became a lifelong friend.
That summer, Judy developed a sense of the artistic possibilities of found objects, especially cast-off fishing baskets, oars and oarlocks, old bones, nails, paintbrushes, metal objects, and colored rope. Of the rope, Judy said, “I love these. They’re works of art, really.”
Her friend Barbara Wojcik recorded Judy’s account of working at a restaurant on Commercial Street and being arrested for allegedly serving alcohol to a minor. It was a setup, she said, by enemies of the restaurant owner. The charges were dropped, according to Judy, after art collector Walter P. Chrysler Jr. appeared in Orleans District Court on her behalf. Even so, Judy felt uncomfortable scrutiny from the local police after they learned that she and Langhorne, an interracial couple, were sharing a cabin, and they soon returned to New York City.
Judy opened a clothing store, Opening Line, on 9th Street at Second Avenue, featuring her own designs. Her customers included Lily Tomlin and Janis Joplin. One Christmas before they parted, Langhorne surprised her with a kitten. In later years, Judy became a devoted rescuer of stray cats in the city.
Judy was a popular subject for photographers including Rowland Scherman, who described her as a “real looker.” She was also photographed by Lynne Burns, Amy Heller, and Owen Butler.
After Opening Line closed, Judy worked in various Manhattan restaurants including Michael’s of Broadway. She rescued hundreds of cats from the streets, became a popular dog walker, and told stories about the famous people she met, from highwire artist Philippe Petit to Martha Stewart.
Judy volunteered to teach art to schoolchildren and taught a course in pattern making. She created scarves and hats that sold well in New York and at Silk & Feathers in Provincetown. Her last creative venture was sewing fleece hats with a unique funky design.
Judy returned to Provincetown in 1991 and every summer thereafter until her health failed. She stayed at the Captain Lysander Inn, and when that closed, with her friend Peter Deveney. “She never had much money,” said Deveney, “but she found a way” by cat- and dog-sitting and selling her scarves and hats.
Judy’s singular artistic talent was discovered late. “She saw art,” said Deveney, “where others couldn’t.” One visitor at an exhibition of her scavenger art said to her, “Your pieces have a similar sensibility.” Judy responded: “They all came from the same dumpster.”
Judy’s artwork was featured in a members show at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and late in life she was part of a six-person retrospective at the Cape Cod Museum of Art featuring art made of found beach objects.
A book about that exhibition, Lost and Found: Time, Tide and Treasures, describes an unusual piece that was “made of saw blades and other jetsam and resembled a pot of flowers.”
Judy returned to the Bronx in 2022 to be cared for at the rehabilitation center. Her beauty and sense of style stayed with her, however, and the mention of Provincetown always made her smile.
Judy leaves a niece, Noeleen Walder of New York City; a nephew, Brian Walder of Ithaca, N.Y.; a cousin, Gail Winner of Miami, Fla.; and many close friends.
A celebration of Judy’s life will be held in Provincetown on Saturday, Sept. 21. Email Peter Deveney ([email protected]) or Barbara Wojcik ([email protected]) for details.
