Leonard LEHRER

1935 - 2018

LEHRER, Leonard Renowned international artist, founding trustee and current honorary member of the International Print Center New York, Emeritus Board Member apexart New York City, Emeritus Professor of Art New York University, beloved husband and father, Leonard Lehrer passed away peacefully on May 8, 2018. Leonard was born in Philadelphia on March 23, 1935 to parents whose siblings escaped or perished in the Holocaust. If a single man in the world was chosen to pass without regrets, it was Leonard. The two largest features of his life, his family and his art, were dear to him above all else. His enthusiasm and love for his wife Marilyn never faded as long as he lived. His friends will recall him proving it with an extended speech about meeting and falling for her that grew in length each time it was told. His art was not just a job to him, but a part of his being. Even in the final weeks of his life, he often expressed his intention to return to his studio and draw something new. In a society in which people spend their time preparing to enjoy life, Leonard loved all, of the time he had. "Leonard Lehrer's work references his past heritage and emphasizes connection. His world is one of amazement and reverence with a desire to experience, learn and share; his energy and enthusiasm belie his years of experience" (Steven Rand, Director, apexart). Leonard's passion for landscape led to a series of paintings and lithographs of formal gardens from all over the world. In his efforts to show that past, present and future all exist at the same moment, the forces that influenced his art ranged from the writings of Borges to the gardens and ceilings of the Alhambra. He had forty-eight solo exhibitions in his lifetime and was included in multiple group exhibitions. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery, Corcoran Gallery, Library of Congress, Gangsneung Art Cultural Center, Korea, Biblioth?que Nationale de France, Sprengel Museum of Art, Germany and some one hundred other public collections across the US and the world. Lehrer attended Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts) and the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at the Philadelphia College of Art and served as Department Chair for the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at San Antonio. At Arizona State University, he was Chair of the Art Department, Founding Director of the School of Art, Director of the Print Research Facility and Director of the Visual Arts Research Institute. During the 1990s, he served as Chair of the Department of Art & Art Professions at New York University. At Columbia College Chicago he became Dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts in 2001. His last position in academia was at the University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts as its Director of the Printmaking Convergence program. In addition, Leonard was Chair of the Arts Advisory Committee to the College Board for ten years, he received the Southern Graphics Council International Lifetime Achievement Award, and was appointed Co-chair of the Arts Task Force of the Fulbright Alumni Association. In 2006, he was selected to give the keynote address at the Fulbright Association's International Alumni Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. In 2001 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant in Athens, Greece and a Fulbright Senior Scholar AIA grant in 2005. He was a member of the International Core Committee that developed a post-graduate international art school for presentation at EXPO 2000, the world's fair in Hannover, Germany. He was Visiting Professor at the International Centre for Culture and Management (ICCM), "Culture of Doubt" Conference, Salzburg, Austria, in 2005, and Visiting Professor at the International Summer Graduate Seminar, Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia. He never missed an opportunity to take his family along on these journeys. His children and grandchildren became constant traveling companions. After teaching and exhibiting in universities and institutions around the world, Leonard and his loving wife Marilyn retired in Austin to be with their four children and families. He was preceded in death by is daughter, Anna Katrina Lehrer and grandson, John Robert Peel. He is survived by his wife Marilyn, children Jamye Peel, Janna Paulson (Steve) and John Peel (Debbie), and grandchildren Ryan Pawlak, Jessica Pawlak, Nicholas Paulson and Daniel Peel. A celebration of his life will be held on June 2, 2018 at 3 p.m. at Thurman's Mansion, 17900 Farm to Market Road 1826, Driftwood, Texas 78619. Donations may be made to Hospice Austin, 4107 Spicewood Springs Rd., Austin, Texas 78759.