Harold Lehman

b. 1913 — d. 2006

Harold Lehman's experience as an American artist encompasses six decades. His journey began in Los Angeles in 1930, when he was a classmate and close friends with Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, and Reuben Kadish. He soon became the assistant to the great Mexican muralist, D.A. Siqueiros, and was a member of the Bloc of Painters. During this period, Lehman was also a prominent member of the Post-Surrealists, an avant-garde group who worked under the direction of Lorser Feitelson. He exhibited with Philip Guston, Helen Lundenberg, and other California artists active in the mid-1930s. He won many awards, including being listed in the first Who's Who of American Art in 1935. Soon after, in 1936, he returned to New York where he helped Siqueiros create the Experimental Workshop. He was chosen by the Federal Art Project to create a mural for Rikers Island Penitentiary, under the WPA, and then another mural under the Treasury Department for a post office in Renovo, PA. Lehman was part of the Woodstock Artists Colony during WWII and created posters for the government's War Bon Effort. Returning to New York, Lehman became a member of the National Society of Mural Painters, The Woodstock Artists Association, The United American Artists, as well as the United Scenic Artists. A Biography and Virtual Gallery of the work of Harold Lehman can be found on http://www.haroldlehman.com