[ELIZABETH] (Roberts) Shaw, a freelance writer and former director of public relations for New York City's Museum of Modern Art who later handled public relations at Christie's Auction House, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at a Wareham nursing home. She was 82.

Retiring after more than 30 years at the museum, Mrs. Shaw worked for Christie's Auction House in New York, handling public relations and helping to keep the organization afloat in the recession of the early 1980s.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Shaw leaves two daughters, Chris Affleck of Cambridge and Linda Boldt of New York City; a stepdaughter, Jane Shaw Bizzi of Belmont; a stepson, Samuel Parkman Shaw Jr. of Boston; and three grandsons.