Memoir of Sam Pullman from 1993

"Born October 31, 1900 at 45 Allen Street. His father, Julius, was a carpenter. His mother, Ida, had ten children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. It must have taken great skill and thrift to raise them all on a carpenter's wages.

Sam was their fifth child. He showed a very early aptitude for drawing and painting, which his family encouraged. His older sisters, in particular, took care of him and his talent, which he was expected to use to help his family out financially, as soon as possible.

This he did as soon as he graduated from grade school in 1916. Nearly 16 years old, he went to work as a commercial artist in various studios around NYC to help his family make ends meet. His father died when Sam was in his early twenties, which made Sam's financial contribution more necessary than ever. According to family legend, Sam promised to help support his widowed mother and not to marry until he was 25.

Shortly before his 25th birthday he married Anna Javits (first cousin of Jacob Javits, who later became a New York Senator). His first child, Miriam, was born in 1926 and his son, Norman in 1931. Norman graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design¹ in 1954; his wife, Barbara Hunt Pullman, graduated from Brown University the same year. By this time the Great Depression was in full swing and Sam found himself, at times, without work. He and a fellow commercial artist, Irving Lefson, decided to set up a studio of their own. They established the Lefson-Lewis Studio, specializing in fine illustrations for men's fashion advertisements. Among their clients were Rogers Peet, Dobbs Hats, Bond Stores, and John David. Sam's illustrations appeared regularly in magazines, newspapers, and in at least one book on fashion, called "Are Clothes Modern?" This business partnership went on for nearly 30 years, until 1959, when he and Lefson dissolved the business.

Although his formal education ended when he was less than 16, he continued to read and study all his life, becoming knowledgeable on many subjects as well as art. He managed to draw and paint for many years as his young family was growing up. He had studied briefly at the Art Students League in NYC in the 1920's but for the most part was self-taught. He seemed to have particularly admired the Impressionists and the Old Masters. His works are in the collections of the Rockport Art Association and the Cape Ann Historical Society Museum. During the summers in the 1930's Sam painted in Rockport, Massachusetts, where a new wave of New York City artists had migrated, drawn by the natural beauty of this little fishing and stone quarrying town, as well as the possibility of living more economically. He became a member of the Rockport Art Assoc in 1932. It was in Rockport that he did most of his watercolors, oils, lithos, and etchings, although he continued to draw and paint cityscapes and still lifes all his life.

He died at age 60, in June, 1961, of cancer. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son-in-law Abner Diamond, son, daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren."

Miriam (Pullman) Diamond
8/20/93

1 Although he studied art as an undergrad, Norman Pullman became a professor of mathematics, specialiing in combinatorics. PhD 1962 Syracuse University. He was on the faculty of Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. He died in 1999 from ALS. Here is an index of his publications.