SALEM — There are the Guggenheim, the Met, the Hirshhorn — and now the Maureen A. Roche Gallery.

That is how Brendan Walsh described the new art gallery at Salem High School, which was dedicated to longtime Salem High art teacher Maureen Roche during a reception last night.

"There are not enough words to tell you what a spectacular teacher and human being (she is)," Walsh said to the crowd of teachers, friends, administrators and students past and present who gathered for the 7 o'clock reception.

Roche, who retired in June, beamed as she walked through the gallery greeting former colleagues and students. She clutched two bouquets of flowers that had been given to her.

"I do miss it," Roche said of the students and faculty.

The inaugural exhibit in the Maureen A. Roche Gallery featured artwork by Salem art teachers — paintings, pen-and-ink drawings, photographs, jewelry, sculptures, vases and more.

"This is wonderful; it's something Salem High School needed: a permanent gallery," said Roche, who worked in the Salem schools for 32 years, "and to have the faculty put up work in the first show is a real tribute. It's great for kids to see how talented their teachers are."

As Perla Peguero admired artwork, she reflected on Roche's influence. Roche was her teacher in the 1970s.

"I like working in black and white (photography), and I think I get that from her," said Peguero, who is now an adjustment counselor at Saltonstall School. "It's wonderful to see the influence she's had on other students. ... This is such a great tribute to her."

Walsh, a retired Salem educator and vice chairman of the School Committee, praised Roche's ability to help students express themselves and pursue higher education.

"She's known by the art school people as a fine talent scout," he said.

The new gallery snakes down a hallway in the unified arts wing of the high school. A student string trio performed classical music during the reception, played by violinists Shana Melanaphy and Archita Benvie and cellist Paula Grasberger. And Salem High culinary students provided cheese, crackers and fruit.

The art gallery was Roche's swan song, which she worked on creating — installing huge panels, built by wood-shop students — until the day she left, according to art teacher Lynne Harrington.

"When Maureen was leaving she said, 'I'm going to write a grant and get a permanent gallery for the students,'" Harrington said. "She was here until the last day, every night. She hand-stretched this fabric onto the frames for the panels — I mean bleeding knuckles every day with a staple gun."

Harrington has been working at Salem High for four years.

"(Roche has) influenced me more than anyone ever could," she said.

Roche, who lives in North Andover, was joined at the reception by her family, including three siblings. During the brief ceremony, she thanked the Salem community for supporting the arts and she quoted painter Edward Hopper.

"He said, 'If I could say it with words, there would be no reason to paint,'" Roche said. "And that's what art is all about."