The Tragic End of Central Park's Beloved Bird-Painting Artist

A beloved homeless artist famed for painting the birds of Central Park was identified Monday as the woman found viciously murdered in a gazebo near the park’s boathouse — shocking the flock of eclectic friends she collected during her colorful life.

Lee Rogers, 63, who buoyantly peddled intricate wildlife watercolors during her years of sleeping rough in the wooded Manhattan haven, died after being bludgeoned by a stick-wielding madman Sunday, law-enforcement sources said.

“She was like the Grandma Moses of Central Park,” said Robert DeCandido, a nature walk guide, referring to the famed 1950s American folk painter.