Lydia Hoelscher, Correspondence
Dublin Core
Title
Lydia Hoelscher, Correspondence
Subject
This collection features correspondence between artist LeRoy Neiman and his mother, Lydia Hoelscher, from the artist's early adulthood to Hoelscher's passing in 1985.
Description
Lydia Hoelscher was an integral figure in LeRoy Neiman's early life, being the near sole consistent presence. Hoelscher, née Serline, married Neiman’s father Charles Runquist in 1918, with the couple and their two sons LeRoy (b. 1921) and Earl (b. 1920) residing in Duluth. When Runquist absconded the family in 1926, the mother moved to Saint Paul, wedding a leather factory foreman of Polish-German descent, "Jack L. Neiman" (John L. Niman). Avoiding what the artist describes in his memoir All Told as, “bothersome adoption legalities,” the children assumed their stepfather’s surname. The elder Neiman's alcoholic tendencies and Depression Era unemployment however led to early divorce. Lydia married Ernst G. Hoelscher roughly five years later, in 1940.
Neiman maintained minimal correspondence with these male figures, including Earl, who had expatriated to Italy. These letters then provide a unique window into the artist’s family life, with the bulk written from Hoelscher to Neiman in the years leading up to her passing.
Neiman maintained minimal correspondence with these male figures, including Earl, who had expatriated to Italy. These letters then provide a unique window into the artist’s family life, with the bulk written from Hoelscher to Neiman in the years leading up to her passing.
Creator
LeRoy Neiman and Lydia Hoelscher
Source
Regarding provenance, the documents originate from Neiman's personal estate, largely found in Neiman's in-home office at Hotel Des Artist on the Upper West Side in New York, New York. For further information on source, please contact the archivist at the LeRoy Neiman Foundation.
Publisher
LeRoy Neiman Foundation
Date
c. 1945-1985
Contributor
LeRoy Neiman and Lydia Hoelscher
Rights
Property of the LeRoy Neiman Foundation; please consult the organization's archivist for further details.
Relation
Correspondence
Format
Image/jpeg
Language
English
Type
Correspondence
Identifier
Identifiers found at item level.
Coverage
New York (N.Y.) New York
Collection Items
Letter from Lydia Hoelscher to LeRoy Neiman
A letter to LeRoy Neiman from his mother, Lydia Hoelscher, at Great Gorge.
Postcard
A note from LeRoy Neiman to his mother, Lydia Hoelscher; Neiman sent the postcard from Paris.
Card
A note from LeRoy Neiman to his mother, Lydia Hoelscher; the letter was written on a promotional flier for the artist's exhibition at Galerie Renée & Victor and mailed from Stockholm, Sweden, where the gallery was located.