us-005578-irn601404-irn597140
type: RecordSet
archival history: The linocut was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Lisa Lehman Trager, the daughter of Harold Lehman.
biographical history: Harold Lehman (1913-2006) was born in New York City, New York to Abraham and Rachel Lehman, immigrants from Europe who arrived in New York at the turn of the twentieth century. Early on, Harold’s father struggled to find consistent employment, working as a mailman and a vaudeville dancer. Later he found steady work as an insurance agent and then left the family and moved to California. His mother was a seamstress. Harold had a twin brother and was one of five children. Harold was part Jewish, and went through synagogue as a boy. The family lived in the West side of Brooklyn and then in the Bronx. In February 1930, Harold and his older brother Charlie moved to California to live with their father. In California, Harold enrolled at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. There he formed lifelong friendships with future notable artists such as Phil Guston, Jackson Pollock, and Manuel Tolegain. Early in his art career, Harold worked primarily as a sculptor. He used plaster and clay as well as carving directly in stone. In 1931, after graduating from Manual Arts, Lehman won a citywide competition for a yearlong scholarship to the Otis Art Institute. In 1932, after leaving Otis, Harold focused on painting and began working with painter D.A. Siqueiros, joining his “Bloc of Painters,” a group of artists with socialist leanings. In 1933, Harold won second place in the Los Angeles Museum’s annual competition of painters and sculptors. In 1933 and 1934, Harold did work for the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) a New Deal program to employ artists. In 1935, Harold felt he had gone as far as he could in Los Angeles, and returned to New York City. There he painted murals for the Federal Art Project, another New Deal program created to employ artists, and sold paintings at exhibits and shows. During this time he continued working with Siqueiros and began experimenting with different types of paints, lacquers and application methods. In 1936 and 1937, Harold created paintings …
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Black and red linocut print on medium weight, faded white paper depicting a surrealist image of three human bodies, with elongated necks and their heads in a cloud. At the bottom of the image are the rounded shapes of three human bodies, lying on the ground, one with their hands raised. Their stretched out necks rise up past the black cloud above them and into the white cloud at the top. Poking out of the white cloud are two undefined faces on the left and center and a more detailed one on the right. At the bottom is the title, date and author’s signature. The red and the black print are not properly aligned. The image is surrounded by dots and streaks of black and red. At the top, the paper is taped to a white rectangular backing mat board with thin, clear tape. A rectangular sheet of clear plastic covers the paper and is taped to the mat board at the top. A window mat is attached to the backing mat and frames the image. The backing mat board has text along the bottom. There is a wide strip of adhesive residue along the entire top edge of the paper. on print, bottom, handwritten, pencil : ‘ISOLATIONISTS’ - H. Lehman 1938 base pressboard interior, bottom, handwritten, pencil : HAROLD LEHMAN “ISOLATIONISTS” 1938 linocut ed. 15 base pressboard interior, bottom right, handwritten, pencil : 1500
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: Restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1938-01-01
has end date: 1938-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had identifier: 2
has or had some members with language: eng
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn597140
is or was included in: us-005578-irn601404
record resource extent: overall: Height: 15.500 inches (39.37 cm) | Width: 12.500 inches (31.75 cm) pictorial area: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 8.750 inches (22.225 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Black and red linocut print by Harold Lehman depicting a surrealist image of three human bodies with elongated necks and their heads in a cloud. The image is a criticism of American isolationists who did not want to get involved in World War II. Lehman’s depiction implies they are looking up and ignoring what is happening around them. An award winning painter, muralist and sculptor, Harold Lehman was known for making political statements with his artwork. He was born and raised in New York City, but moved to Los Angeles as a teenager, attending the Otis Art Institute. While in L.A. he worked with Phil Guston, Jackson Pollock, D.A. Siqueiros, and Manuel Tolegain. In 1941 Harold moved back to New York and continued his career, working with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and the Federal Art Project, both New Deal programs to employ artists. He also worked with the Treasury department and Abbott Laboratories to create War Bond advertisements, pro-American propaganda, and anti-fascist pieces.
title: Abstract linocut print depicting three figures with long necks and their heads in the clouds