Toby Graser (nee Cytrynbaum) was a remarkable woman who defied categorization.

Born on March 18, 1937, in Montreal, she trained as a concert pianist, modelled in Toronto and New York, and eventually became one of New Brunswick's most distinguished artists. Throughout her life, Toby was a creative force of nature with a talent for beauty. In addition to a 50-year career as a painter, she created pottery, did interior design, made her own clothes as a young wife and mother, knit sweaters whenever she tried to quit smoking (which always failed), and was a gourmet cook who threw famously fabulous dinner parties. Elegant, classic, raunchy and fun, Toby loved to laugh and despised pretention in any form. She simultaneously carried off being a devoted wife and mother with pursuing her artistic practice. Her many friends adored her quick wit and immense heart: she was the first one to send over homemade dinner to an ailing friend, or to make a sandwich for a hungry wanderer who came to the back door. She was practical and savvy, loved gadgets, and was devoted to a succession of dogs. In Montreal, she was fixed up on a blind date with a dashing radio host, Weldon Graser, who became the love of her life.

When Graser moved to Rothesay, where she continued to paint, garden and golf. Fiercely independent, she careened back and forth to her downtown Saint John studio in a big red jeep for the next two decades. As a painter, Toby had over 50 solo shows and participated in group exhibitions across Canada, New York, and Mexico since 1969. In the 1980s and 1990s, she participated in a number of professional workshops, most notably at Emma Lake, Saskatchewan, and Triangle Artists' Workshop in Pine Plains, New York. A major retrospective of her work toured Canada between 1992 and 1995. Her work has been the subject of numerous publications and is in many public, corporate, and private collections in North America and Europe.

The Saint John Art Centre exhibited a selection of works from the 50 years of her career near the end of her life.