Aldwyth, Reclusive Collage Artist, Dies at 90

Aldwyth, an iconoclastic South Carolina artist known for intricate collages and assemblages made from found objects and printed materials, died on April 10, 2026, near Hilton Head Island at age 90. Her death at a hospice facility was announced by her son, Calhoun Thomas III. Since 1980, she lived in an 800-square-foot octagonal treehouse on stilts in Deer Island, a secluded enclave of Hilton Head. Her work, often compared to Joseph Cornell's, included cigar-box containers and contraptions with handles, straps, wheels, and drawers filled with objects, pictures, and typed words. Unlike Cornell's boxes, hers were meant to be carried and explored. She incorporated debris collected after Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston in 1989. Her art challenged and reimagined history, particularly art history, and her own place within it.