Ora Lerman
(In Memoriam)
When the distinguished American painter Ora Lerman died in 1998, she left a substantial body of paintings, charcoals, and watercolors. She stipulated in her will that all of her artistic output was to be put into a
trust that would arrange exhibitions, publish catalogues, and sell her work. To date, the trust has published a retrospective catalogue and mounted several exhibitions.
Lerman also stipulated in her will that Soaring Gardens, her country home and studio in the bucolic hills of northeast Pennsylvania, should become a retreat for artists. Her husband, David Ostwald, fulfilled her wishes and in the summer of 2000, Soaring Gardens saw its first resident artists. In 2001, the trust was gifted a small nearby church as a second space, thereby increasing the number of artists the residency program can accommodate. As of the summer of 2022 Soaring Gardens has offered free space to over 220 visual artists, writers, musicians, and composers.