Lawrence Lebduska

Lawrence H. Lebduska (1894-1966) was an American artist. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 1, 1894, his parents moved to Leipzig, Germany when he was 5. He was educated there where he studied stained glass making and eventually studied under Joseph Svoboda. Lebduska returned to the United States in 1912, first settling in Baltimore and later moving to New York.

Lebduska was commissioned by interior designer Elsie de Wolfe to paint murals. He contributed to many group shows and had his first one-man show in 1936. This exhibition inspired Abby Aldrich Rockefeller to begin her legendary folk art collection. Lebduska's work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NY; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; University of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI; New York State Historical Association, NY; the Phoenix Art Museum, AZ; the Newark Museum, NJ; the Wadsworth Athenaeum, CT and the Weatherspoon Art Museum, SC among others.

Lebduska's first wife was Hungarian-born Nellie Matisan. They had a son, Lawrence Lebduska, Jr. in 1918. The couple separated in the 1920s. On June 22, 1927, Lebduska married Marion Glazik. He neglected to first divorce Matisan who, upon learning of his marriage, had him promptly arrested for bigamy. Lebduska worked through his legal troubles and Marion remained by his side.They had three children: Marion, John and Gertrude. Lebduska was plagued by alcoholism which severely affected his career. His career had a brief resurgence in the 1960s before his death in 1966.