Albert R. Goldsmith, a retired teacher of homebound children for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, a tireless volunteer and a perennial presence at city cultural events, died Monday at Schenley Gardens Assisted Living, Oakland. He was 93.

In retirement, Mr. Goldsmith continued to teach as a volunteer at the Children's Institute and at Vintage Adult Day Care, actively maintained an interest in the arts, was a member of his church choir and served as an extra in independent movies.

Mr. Goldsmith was a superb example of how one could have "a creative and productive life for many years after retirement," said the Rev. David Herndon, minister of First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, where Mr. Goldsmith was a longtime member.

Mr. Goldsmith attended Schenley High School and the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a master's degree in the philosophy of science from Harvard University, an achievement that Rev. Herndon said "testifies to his interest in thinking deeply about our world."

"He was a polymath, interested in every field -- art, music, philosophy. He taught himself Polish, English country dances," said artist and critic Harry Schwalb.

Perhaps Mr. Goldsmith's most public face was at art openings. "Albert Goldsmith was a consummate gallery goer. He was almost legendary," Mr. Schwalb said. "In his lifetime he quite likely attended at least 5,000 art openings, maybe more."

Mr. Goldsmith had a slightly eccentric, if endearing, reputation in the local art world. Artist Kathleen Zimbicki, who was proprietress of Studio Z gallery on the South Side for almost 27 years, said Mr. Goldsmith came to all of her openings. "He would stick food in his pockets," she said with a fond laugh, and "he looked like he needed to be dusted off half the time. But he knew a lot about art."

He also had an unusual talent to read character from handwriting. Mrs. Zimbicki said that Mr. Goldsmith once visited her gallery at holiday time when greeting cards were hanging on the wall and began describing the senders from their brief messages. "He was dead on with every signature. Mellon Bank hired him to see if they should give people loans."

Frequently Mr. Goldsmith would bring a teenager or two with him to events, and the Rev. Herndon said that friends told him that Mr. Goldsmith had been a foster parent to 12 children.

"He would adopt difficult, aggressive older teenagers that nobody would want," Mr. Schwalb said. "He paid for them, educated them, got them interested in art and in a career, and sent them away.

"This man was a humanitarian institution. He came to see the art and not to mingle," Mr. Schwalb said. "He would buy art because it encouraged artists."

Mr. Goldsmith donated his body to Humanity Gifts Registry of the University of Pittsburgh. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. today, followed by a reception, both at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Ave., Shadyside.