User:Pookerlout/Vera Neumann

Vera Neumann a.k.a Vera(born Vera Salaff, July 24, 1907) was an American artist and entrepreneur. She is best known for her bold colored patterns on her linens and scarves, signed with her script "Vera" and a ladybug.

Early Life and Career
Vera was the third of four children born to Fanny and Meyer Salaff. Her parents encouraged each of their children to find a passion and follow it. Vera's passion was drawing and painting. Her father gave her 50 cents for each sketchbook she could fill with her drawings as well as taking her to The Metropolitan Museum of Art every Sunday. Ultimately, each of the Salaff children chose a creative career path. Vera attended art school at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art after high school and enrolled in classes at Traphagen School of Design after graduation. Her first job was as a fashion illustrator and then a textile designer on Seventh Avenue in New York. After a brief stint at that, she left to design fabric and murals for children's rooms.

Vera met George Neumann who was from Austria and who had a familial background in textiles. The two were married and moved into a small studio on 17th street. George and Vera decided to merge their career backgrounds and began their company, Printex. They built a small silkscreen to fit on their dining room table and produced linen placemats (the only thing that was small enough to fit the table printing press). These they cured in their kitchen oven.

They were soon joined by Frederick Werner Hamm, a friend who had recently immigrated from Germany and also had a background in textiles. He used his sales ability to sell the first order to the department store B. Altman. The company outgrew the apartment and moved into a larger apartment. They soon outgrew the larger apartment and moved into a large derelict 1810 Georgian Mansion near the Hudson River in Ossining, NY.

The First Signature Scarf
World War II was in full swing when Vera found that the linen supply was dwindling. Searching for more linen for her products, she came across extra parachute silk at an army surplus store. Thus began her scarf business. She kept her signature on the art that was transferred to the scarves, thus creating the first signature scarf in history. Vera scarves launched the business into immediate popularity and Vera was soon on a first-name basis with women around the country. Marilyn Monroe was a fan as well as Grace Kelly and First Lady Bess Truman (who had selected Vera fabric from Schumacher, Inc. to grace the White House third-floor Solarium windows and upholstery.) Women around the country chose Vera products for their color and happy prints.

The demand for Vera products and the untimely death of George in 1962 led Vera to sell the business to Manhattan Industries in 1967. Both Vera and Werner Hamm became board members and Vera stayed on as the creative director. The company expanded into sportswear (eventually hiring up and comer Perry Ellis to oversee that division) and luggage.

Galleries and Awards
Emile Walter Galleries, located at 121 East 57th Street, launched an exhibition in 1970. It included around 50 original paintings and brought famous art collectors from around the country (the first customer was John Lennon.) Department stores across the country hosted a traveling show of scarves and other products, set up to look like an art gallery. The Smithsonian inducted Vera into its Resident Associate Program in October 1972 as their first artist. They also commissioned her to paint the Foucault Pendulum (which still hangs in their offices today.) They launched a program "A Salute to Vera: the Renaissance Woman" at the Museum of History and Technology. In 1975 the Fashion Institute of Technology's Museum launched a retrospective named, "Vera: The Artist in Industry 1945-1975." The Goldie Paley Design Center at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science launched a retrospective of their own in 1980 entitled "Celebrate the Seasons of the Sun With Vera."

Her Legacy
Vera Licensing (as her company was called) was purchased by Salant Corporation in 1988. Vera remained the head designer, however Printex was closed later that year. She painted until the last months of her life. Vera died of cardiac arrest at Phelps Memorial Hospital in North Tarrytown, NY on June 15, 1993. Even after her death, she continued to receive acclaim from museums and exhibits from around the country. Vera Licensing was sold to The Tog Shop, a catalog company in 1999. The Tog Shop had been licensing sportswear from Vera Licensing. The Tog Shop went up for sale in 2005 and Susan Seid, then the VP of Merchandising of The Tog Shop, bought The Vera Company (as it is now called) and is currently the owner. The Vera Company currently holds 8 licenses for its products.