In Memoriam

Lisbeth McCoy
1962-2024

MANHATTAN—Lisbeth McCoy, a Danish-American artist, died on October 3, 2024 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. The cause was complications of melanoma. She was 62.

Born on the Danish island of Funen, Lisbeth left Denmark at the age of 19. She lived in Paris, where she modeled for Chanel, and then moved to New York City to study at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After periods acting in Los Angeles, and living in the Australian outback, she settled in New York City, which became her home.

She opened Lisbeth & Co., a store on Elizabeth Street, in 1998, where she curated furniture and design and began to refine an aesthetic that defined her creative life. In 2001, she married art dealer and gallerist Jason McCoy and they had one son, the musician Charles McCoy.

Lisbeth attended the New York Academy of Art and established a studio space in Tribeca. Her practice as an artist encompassed sculpture, mobile, painting, and drawing, and her use of shape, and rhythm, and light traced a subtle balance between organic and human forms. She showed at Anders Wahlstedt Fine Art, Jason McCoy Gallery and Lisa Perry’s Onna House.

Lisbeth’s exquisite sensibility was apparent in everything around her, from her home to her dress to her posture—informed by a lifetime of ballet and modern dance. “Cozy” was a word Lisbeth used as high praise. Her nature was generous, unpretentious, gentle and welcoming; she put those around her, from all backgrounds, at ease. Her quiet strength in the face of adversity during her last year was an inspiration to friends and family.

She is survived by her husband, Jason, and her son, Charles. A celebration of her life will be held in Cooperstown in the summer of 2025—details to follow. Gifts in her memory can be made to the Lisbeth McCoy Scholarship Fund at the New York Academy of Art and/or New York Presbyterian Hospital.