THE LEGACY OF LLOYD HERMAN

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lloyd Herman (1936 - 2023), JRACraft founder and founder of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

As founding director of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in 1972, Lloyd’s dream was to have craft, art, and design join its rightful place among the Smithsonian’s family of museums in the heart of the nation’s capital for all to learn and enjoy.

In the early eighties, Lloyd and a number of frequent visitors to the Renwick Gallery were invited to the home of Charles and Ann Gailis for a get-together. From this meeting, the James Renwick Collector Alliance was founded in 1982, later known as the James Renwick Alliance for Craft. In our most recent communication with Loyd this fall, he had this to say "I’m very proud of what is now the James Renwick Alliance for Craft, and its importance nationally."
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Lloyd received our One-of-A-Kind award in 2009. He was elected as an honorary fellow by the American Craft Council in 1988. Additionally, he was an Honorary Lifetime Member of Northwest Designer Craftartists, a member of the American Alliance of Museums, an honorary member of the American Society of Interior Designers, and was decorated by the monarchs of Denmark and Belgium for exhibitions that he organized on the crafts of their countries.

WE INVITE JRACRAFT MEMBERS AND FRIENDS TO LEAVE TRIBUTES AND RECOLLECTIONS OF LLOYD HERMAN BELOW.
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Lloyd was preceded in death by his life partner Dick Wilson who passed away in 2021. Further details including his obituary and any memorial details will be added to this page as they are made available.

LLOYD HERMAN THE ACCIDENTAL CURATOR
In 2021, the Northwest Designer Craftartists released "Lloyd Herman, The Accidental Curator," a film about his life and accomplishments. The Living Treasures Project is an ongoing series of video profiles documenting the Northwest's most important and influential craft professionals. JRACraft was a proud sponsor of the film.

LLOYD HERMAN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW
In 2010 Lloyd Herman was interviewed by Paul Smith for the Archives of American Art as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. From 2000 to 2012, the project recorded and transcribed 235 oral history interviews with key figures in American craft. The American Art Archives started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators, including Lloyd Herman.