Apple Tree Oil on board by Olga Lehmann
Serendipity plays its part in expanding the Fry Gallery collection. This painting by Olga Lehmann turned up recently in a local second hand shop, and was generously donated to the gallery. The arrival of this piece is timely, since we are planning an exhibition of work by Olga Lehmann in next year’s programme for the Gibson Room, the smaller of the two exhibition spaces in the gallery.
Olga Lehmann was born in Chile in 1912. She later won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art in London. During her career her paintings were seen by millions who may not have recognised her name, as they were hanging in the background in many films and American TV series such as Dynasty and The Colbys. Private portrait commissions included Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Errol Flynn, and Marlene Dietrich. Perhaps her most notable works were the murals she executed for the Bristol Aircraft Company’s works canteen at their underground factory at Corsham in Wiltshire. Now Grade II* listed, they are now under the protection of the Ministy of Defence.
After WWII, Olga and her husband Carl Huson settled at Great Sampford, near Saffron Walden. They would winter in Los Angeles, where their son lived, and return to England for the summer. She worked right up to the end of her life, holding one-man-shows (which she organised herself) in Thaxted Guildhall near her home. Olga Lehmann died in Saffron Walden in 2001.
The Fry Art Gallery is extremely grateful to David Reed for his generosity.