LaVerne Krause
LaVerne Krause (1924–1987) was born in Portland, and attended the University of Oregon where she studied with Jack Wilkinson, who she considered her most influential teacher. After finishing her degree, she took classes at the Museum Art School, where she eventually taught children’s classes. In 1966 she was hired as the only woman in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Oregon and founded its printmaking program. Krause taught at the University of Oregon for 20 years, where she was known as a strong influence on art students and young artists. She created over ten thousand prints and paintings in her lifetime.
An advocate for artists’ economic and working conditions, she was instrumental in founding the Oregon chapter of the Artists Equity Association and served as president of the national Artists Equity. Krause was also a founding member of the Northwest Print Council. She was recognized in 1980 with the highest honor Oregon bestows upon an artist, the Oregon Governor’s Art Award.
In 1991, the University of Oregon created the LaVerne Krause Gallery in Lawrence Hall in her honor.
