Lenore Thomas Straus facts for kids

Lenore Thomas Straus (born November 1, 1909 – died January 16, 1988) was an American artist who created sculptures and wrote books. She is known for her public art, especially pieces made during the New Deal era, which helped many artists during a tough economic time.

Life and Art

Lenore Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois. She later passed away at her home in Blue Hill, Maine. Even though she studied at the Chicago Art Institute, she mostly taught herself how to be a sculptor. She even had an art show in Mexico City in 1933.

Much of Lenore's early art was public art. This means her artworks were for everyone to see in public places. She created these pieces as part of different New Deal programs. The New Deal was a series of programs in the 1930s that helped Americans get back on their feet during a difficult economic period called the Great Depression. These programs also supported artists by giving them work.

Lenore made terra cotta murals (wall art made from clay) for several post offices. She also created two big sculptures for a planned community in Greenbelt, Maryland. One was a large "Mother and Child" sculpture, and the others were panels showing parts of the Preamble to the United States Constitution. She also worked with other artists to make playground sculptures for Langston Terrace in Washington, DC. This was the first housing project funded by the government.

In the early 1940s, Lenore married Robert Ware Straus. They lived in Accokeek, Maryland. Robert was important in helping protect the view across the Potomac River from George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. Lenore had her own art studio at their home in Accokeek.

In 1968, she moved to Maine. There, she studied Zen, a type of Buddhism, with a teacher named Walter Nowick. She was an active member of the Morgan Bay zendo (a Zen center), and some of her sculptures are still there today.

In 1987, the University of Maine honored Lenore with the Maryann Hartman Award. This award celebrates important women in Maine. After she passed away in 1988, a scholarship was created in her name at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Lenore had taught there in 1984 and 1986, where she explored making art with handmade paper.

Her Impact and Artistry

Lenore Thomas Straus believed strongly in social justice and equality. Her art often showed themes of fairness for immigrants, respect for working people, and personal strength. Many artists in the 1930s shared similar beliefs about how art could help society.

During the 1930s and 1940s, government programs like the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 helped many artists, especially women. For the first time, many women artists could earn a good living from their creative work. This changed their careers and allowed them to make valuable art.

In 1952, Lenore took on her youngest and longest-lasting art student, Sue Hoya Sellars. Lenore met Sue in 1953 when Sue was thirteen. Lenore saw that Sue was a very talented young artist. Lenore Thomas Straus later became Sue's legal guardian and her art teacher. They both focused on the idea of intentionality in art. This means thinking deeply about the purpose and meaning behind the art you create.

Today, the idea of "Intentional Creativity" in art is taught by Sue Hoya Sellars' daughter, Shiloh Sophia McCloud. In June 2015, the Greenbelt Museum in Greenbelt, Maryland, held an exhibit of Lenore's work. The show was called "The Knowing Hands That Carve This Stone: The New Deal Art of Lenore Thomas Straus." This exhibit showed how art can be passed down through generations of artists, connecting Lenore's work with that of Sue Hoya Sellars and Shiloh Sophia McCloud.

Gallery

• 

  Greenbelt, Maryland bas relief "Promote the General Welfare"

• 

  Greenbelt, Maryland bas relief "Provide for the Common Defense"

• 

  Greenbelt, Maryland bas relief "Insure Domestic Tranquility"

Selected Artworks