Esther Hamerman

Esther Hamerman (born Esther Wachsmann[1]) (1886-1977) was an American painter.

Esther Hamerman
Born
Esther Wachsmann[1]

September 21, 1886[1]
Wieliczka, Poland[1]
Died1977 (aged 90–91)[1]
New York, New York, United States[1]
NationalityAmerican
Known forPainting

Early life

Esther was born in 1886 in Wieliczka, Poland into a Jewish family.[1][2] She had 13 siblings. By the age of 18 she was married. She had four children and the family lived in Vienna.[2]

In 1938, the family fled Vienna because of the Anschluss. For six years they lived in a British internment camp in Trinidad.[2]

Immigration to the United States and career

In 1944 the Hamerman family was released from the camp and moved to New York City. Esther started painting after moving to New York. Her daughter Helen Breger and her husband, Leonard, supported Hamerman's career and submitted a painting of hers to an exhibition at ACA Galleries. That exhibition was her "big break" into the art world.[2]

Hamerman's husband died in 1950. As a result, she relocated with her daughter and son-in-law to San Francisco, where she continued to paint.[2]

Later life

She moved back to New York in 1963. She lived with her other daughter, Nadja Merino-Kalfel.[2] She died in 1977 in New York.[1] Her grand-granddaughter is artist Nicole Eisenman.[2]

Notable collections

Work and style

Hamerman was self-taught and was described as a "leading practitioner" of memory painting by Daniel Belasco, curator at the Jewish Museum. She is considered a folk artist.[2]

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References
  1. "Esther Hamerman". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. Newhall, Edith. "All in the Family". Artnews. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  3. "Untitled (East River)". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
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