Oscar Liebman, Artist Who Painted Broadway Posters, 82

[DGH]

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Oscar Liebman of Stoughton, an artist who painted Broadway show posters
and illustrated hundreds of book jackets, died June 7, 2002, of
respiratory failure, at the age of 82.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Liebman was an ardent fan of the New
York Yankees and New York Knickerbockers. He lived in Stoughton for
about 10 years.

At 16, he attended the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, New
York, on a scholarship but left to enlist in the Army during World War
II. While serving as a medic in the South Pacific, Mr. Liebman drew
Army-related illustrations for Yank Magazine and sketched postcards that
he sent home to his sweetheart, Mildred.

"He made sketches of lonely guys and of all sorts of things," she said.
"After four years of that, I knew he was the one."

Two weeks after Mr. Liebman was discharged in 1946, the two were married
in Newton. Mr. Liebman went back to the Art Students League to study
under William E. McNulty, George Grosz, and other influential artists.

His work was spotted by Broadway producers in the 1950s and he began
producing posters for shows including including "Gypsy," "Man of
LaMancha," and "New Girl in Town." In 1979, Mr. Liebman published the
instructional guide "Collage Fundamentals." Until the late 1980s, he was
a freelance illustrator for The New York Times, Newsday, and Collier's
until the late 1980s.

In his spare time, Mr. Liebman made collages and other forms of art.

"He was extremely versatile and prolific," his daughter Karren Schoman
said. "He could use all mediums."

Schoman remembers the way her father would make beautiful holiday cards
for his wife, children, and grandchildren and made sketches for
practically everybody he knew.

"Even bus boysbusboys," Schoman said. "He wanted to make everyone feel
important."

At the time of his death he was working on an autobiographical collage
titled "Golden Age."