The PAWS shelter in Gray’s Ferry has a maternity room where pregnant cats can safely give birth. The room is named after Gury.
Gury specialized in caring for rescued cats that had medical problems and were difficult to place in foster care. His third-story walk-up loft apartment on Chestnut Street in Old City served as a home, studio and playground for recovering cats.
In 2016, he took in a cat that was born without eyelids. An operation to graft new lids cost $3,000, which Gury paid himself. The cat was later adopted out.
Levy said Gury was particularly drawn to cats with eye problems because he was a visual artist.
“We talked about it,” she said. “It was something in him that was really moved and motivated to ensure that these tiny creatures could see the world.”
In 2018, Gury’s apartment building burned down. The owners of a bar on the ground floor were later convicted of intentionally setting the building on fire to collect an insurance payout. The fire consumed all of Gury’s stored artwork and six cats.
As soon as Gury reestablished a residence, he resumed fostering cats.
“It’s not always sweetness and light as everyone would like it to be,” Gury said in 2018. “It’s sometimes hard and painful, but I’m committed to this.”
Although cats only seldom appeared on Gury’s canvases, his commitment to art and cats were intertwined. Amanda Kaiserman, a PAFA board member who once took classes with Gury, said taking care of cats was a healing activity for him.
“He felt like, you can’t always count on people, but you can always count on cats,” she said. “He was very conscious of the healing properties of art, and I think he used his art both to help heal other people and for himself. There’s a lot of overlap with his care for cats.”
A gathering memorializing Gury will be held at PAFA’s Rhoden Arts Center auditorium on Oct. 23 at 5 p.m., followed by a reception in a nearby gallery with the exhibition “Al Gury: Painting and Purpose.”
Al Gury rarely put cats into his canvases. This painting, ”Quiet,” is an exception. (From Al Gury online portfolio)