Harold Lehman (1913–2006) was an American artist known for his murals for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA). Lehman was born in 1913 in New York City. He moved to California as a teenager and attended

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sc ...

in Los Angeles. There he met and became close friends with

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

Philip Guston Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein, June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980) was a Canadian American painter, printmaker, muralist and draftsman. "Guston worked in a number of artistic modes, from Renaissance-inspired figuration to formally accomplis ...

(formerly Phillip Goldstein), and

Reuben Kadish Reuben Kadish (January 29, 1913 – September 20, 1992) was an American artist, specializing as a sculptor, draughtsman, muralist, painter, and printmaker. In his later career he also taught art history and sculpture in New York City. Biograph ...

. In 1931, upon graduating from

, Lehman won a citywide competition for a sculpture scholarship to

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a Private university, private Art school, art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is l ...

. He also became interested in the Post-Surrealist movement in Los Angeles and studied under

Lorser Feitelson Lorser Feitelson (1898–1978) was an artist known as one of the founding fathers of Southern California–based hard-edge painting. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Feitelson was raised in New York City, where his family relocated shortly after his b ...

and

Helen Lundeberg Helen Lundeberg (1908–1999) was an American painter. Along with her husband Lorser Feitelson, she is credited with establishing the Post-Surrealism, Post-Surrealist movement. Her artistic style changed over the course of her career, and has bee ...

In 1932, Lehman became an apprentice to

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

, the Mexican muralist who was in Los Angeles working on a number of projects, including the first large-scale our door mural in the United States, Tropical America," ("La América Tropical".) Lehman joined his group
Block of Painters
working on fresco murals portraying the discrimination and mistreatment of African Americans. All of the mural panels were destroyed the night before the exhibition to the public by the Los Angeles Red Squad. In 1935, Lehman returned to New York. When Siqueiros came to New York to attend first American Artist's Congress he and Lehman got together and formed the Siqueiros Workshop. As Lehman said, "The basic thing about mural painting is that it’s a message that the artist is giving to the public and, in turn, the message must be received by the public. This kind of give-and-take is an extremely important and valuable one, to both the social and artistic life of this country." In 1937, Lehman began working for the

Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...

. He created the mural ''Our Daily Bread'' for the Riker's Island Prison. In 1941, he was chosen by the Section of Fine Arts under the US Treasury Department to design a mural for a post office in Renovo, Pennsylvania, "Locomotive Repair Operation" Moving to Woodstock, NY, in 1941, Lehman became part of the local Woodstock art scene and became good friends with

Hervey White Hervey White (1866–1944) was an American novelist, poet, and community-builder. He was one of the original founders of the Byrdcliffe Colony in Woodstock, New York, then went on to create a more radical artists' colony, the Maverick. Both Byrd ...

, a neighbor that lived down the road. He also began creating posters in 1943 for the US Treasury Department to support War Bond Drives. Artists were commissioned through the Associated American Artists Gallery in New York. It was through the AAA Gallery that Lehman was hired to do several paintings relating to the War. One poster ''The Paratrooper''. became an iconic poster of the day. Two others were used as advertisements to support the War Bond Drive. In 1946, Lehman returned to New York and taught art at his studio and in 1950 married one of his students, Leona Koutras, with whom he had two children. Throughout the 1960s - 80's he worked as a Scenic Designer & Scenic Artist in television, movies, and commercials. He also was chief designer of the Coca-Cola Pavilion at the New York World's Fair and later the World of Man at Expo '67 in Montreal Canada. In 1997 he was interviewed for the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

where he discussed his work and close association with fellow artists. Lehman died on April 2, 2006, in Leonia, New Jersey. His work is in the collection of the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, where he contributed to the

Index of American Design The Index of American Design program of the Federal Art Project produced a pictorial survey of the crafts and decorative arts of the United States from the early colonial period to 1900. Artists working for the Index produced a collection of 18, ...

, and in the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. His photographic collection is in the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

. In 1995 his work was included in the exhibition ''Pacific Dreams: Currents of Surrealism and Fantasy in California Art, 1934-1957'' at the

Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

. In 2022 the

Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center In November 1945, Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner moved to what is now known as the Pollock-Krasner House and Studio in Springs in the town of East Hampton on Long Island, New York. The wood-frame house on with a nearby barn is o ...

held an exhibition of Lehman's work entitled ''Harold Lehman: The Nineteen Thirties''.

Gallery

Harold Lehman, The Driller (mural, Rikers Island, New York), 1937.jpg, ''The Driller (mural, Rikers Island, New York)'', 1937 Harold Lehman - Invest in Invasion, Buy War Bonds, c. 1939-1945.jpg, ''Invest in Invasion, Buy War Bond''s, c. 1939-1945

References

External links

Harold Lehman American Artist
at YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, Harold 1913 births 2006 deaths Artists from New York City American artists Federal Art Project artists