Jean Lipman

Jean Herzberg Lipman (1909 – June 20, 1998) was an American artist, collector, and art historian, a pioneer in the study of American folk art.

Biography A native of Manhattan, where she was born Jean Herzberg, Lipman grew up in Midtown before receiving her BA from Wellesley College and her MA in art history from New York University, taking as the topic of her master's thesis a collection of profile portraits from Florence. She was married to Howard Lipman, an investment banker and sculptor, who shared her interests. She began collecting folk art in 1936 with the goal of furnishing a home in Connecticut. In 1938 she became an associate editor of Art in America, moving to the position of editor two years later; she remained in this post until 1971, when she moved to the Whitney Museum of American Art to become director of publications. which also owns an interview conducted with her in 1973. Other archives related to her work are housed at the American Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.