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Frederick Herman, who, with his wife, Lucy, donated an extensive collection of Inuit art to the University of Delaware, died May 3 in Nofolk, Va.
In 2000, the Hermans donated their collection of Native American art, including more than 170 Inuit drawings and additional drawings by Aleuts, as well as Inuit carvings, North West Coast Indian drawings and carvings, American Indian drawings and carvings and some works from Central America to UD’s Center for American Material Culture Studies. Their intention was that their collection be used extensively by faculty to give UD students the opportunity to learn about Inuit culture through art and that the collection be accessible by teachers and schoolchildren throughout the state.
In the 1980s, the Hermans developed a strong interest in Inuit art, attracted by drawings which compellingly depicted a society on the verge of transition. Until recently, the Inuits were a semi-nomadic people who roamed from British Columbia to the Arctic Circle. These drawings portray the Inuits’ everyday lives and traditions over the span of three generations.
Selections from the collection were featured in an exhibition, “The Story Teller’s Hand: Inuit Drawings from the Frederick and Lucy S. Herman Collection of Native American Art,” on display at the University Gallery from Oct. 19-Dec. 17, 2000. A major exhibition of the entire collection is slated for 2003, in observance of the United Nations’ “Decade of the World’s Indigenous People” and the University Gallery’s 25th anniversary.
The Hermans’ son, Bernard, is director of UD’s Center for American Material Culture Studies.
See related links
Obituary from The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.
University Gallery exhibition “The Storyteller’s Hand”
Center for American Material Culture Studies page on exhibit opening
May 9, 2002
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