Agnes Earl Lyall

Agnes Earl Lyall LAKE HILL-Agnes Earl Lyall died at her home on Saturday, Sept. 14 in Lake Hill, N.Y. at the age of 105. She was born on Feb. 25, 1908, the daughter of the late Herbert James Lyall and Lina Hess Lyall of Summit, N.J. She attended Kent Place School in Summit and graduated from Smith College in 1930 with a BA in Art. Continuing her education at Columbia University, she receiving an MA in Art . She traveled and studied in Europe while pursuing her interest in art before returning to New York City. She was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists formed in 1936, and her works were exhibited at the Riverside Museum and the Squibb Gallery. A lithograph is held in the archives of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Metropolitan. During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) selected her to receive training in Japanese at Columbia University due to her facility with languages. She used that training in Washington D.C., working for the OSS, decoding Japanese messages intercepted from enemy ship communications. Following the war, she returned to New York and began to spend summers in Woodstock and later purchased property in Lake Hill. In addition to her love of art, she was an avid supporter of wildlife, and she enjoyed daily visits from the local animals who knew they were welcome guests. She was a loving aunt to her nephews and family. In addition to family, her life was enriched with wonderful friends and a devoted team who cared for her in the last decade. Through the years, she found great strength in her faith as a Christian Scientist. She was preceded in death by her brother, Herbert James Lyall Jr. and survived by her three nephews: Herbert James Lyall III of Baltimore, Maryland, Alexander Walker Lyall of Burlington, Vermont and Andrew Gordon Lyall of Salem, Massachusetts in addition to six grandnieces and nephews and six great-grandnieces and nephews.A memorial gathering is being planned for Oct.23rd. Arrangements under the direction of Lasher Funeral Home.