Lee Rogers, a beloved homeless artist known for painting Central Park’s birds, was the woman found brutally slain inside a gazebo near the park’s boathouse, The Post has learned.
Rogers, 63, spent years living rough in the wooded Manhattan park while selling detailed watercolor paintings of wildlife. Law-enforcement sources said she died Sunday after being beaten with a stick.
“She was like the Grandma Moses of Central Park,” said Robert DeCandido, a nature-walk guide, invoking the celebrated American folk artist of the 1950s.
Rogers was especially admired for her paintings of bird feeders, DeCandido said. Birdwatchers often purchased her work directly in the park, according to DeCandido, who is known as “Birding Bob.”
News that a body had been discovered in the gazebo near East Drive and 74th Street quickly spread among Central Park birdwatchers and homeless people who spend time in the area. Many immediately feared the victim was Rogers.
Police said the suspect, 36-year-old Jonathan Robles, surrendered to authorities late Sunday.
Investigators said Rogers and Robles were involved in an argument that turned violent, though the precise circumstances remained unclear.
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Rogers identified herself as Francis Lee Rogers on her website and Facebook page. Sources said she was also known as Elise Bainbridge Hill, an alternate name that offers clues to her little-known past.
Hill, who was also known as Rogers, was featured in the 2007 documentary “Begging Naked,” which recounted how she ran away to New York City as a teenager.
According to the film, Rogers later became involved in prostitution and drug use and worked as a stripper while continuing to develop her artistic talent.
As she established herself as a familiar figure in Central Park, Rogers maintained an enigmatic presence, often appearing with a sketchbook and a distinctive crooked walking stick.
When The New York Times profiled Rogers in 2012 and likened her work to that of naturalist painter John James Audubon, she declined to reveal her age or discuss much of her personal history.
Birdwatchers and other park visitors came to know Rogers through the paintings she sold while staying at churches near Central Park.
“For many years I was homeless,” she wrote on her website. “I worked on my paintings at the Central Park boathouse.”
Robles was awaiting arraignment in Manhattan court Monday on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
— Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer