Lloyd G. Schermer (born 1927) is an American businessman and artist. He was born in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri.
Schermer served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He attended
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
graduating in 1950, then earned an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Career
Early years
Schermer entered general management in 1958 at the ''Star Courier'' in
Kewanee, Illinois
Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000.
Geography
According to the ...
. While in Kewanee, the ''Star Courier'' received awards from the Illinois Daily Press Association and the Inland Press Association for community service and local community reporting.
He moved to
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
in 1959 where he became publisher of the
Missoulian
The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...
. This is the town in the book: '' A River Runs Through It''. While in Missoula, Schermer was deeply involved in community and state affairs. The newspaper played a leading role in the passage of air and water pollution regulations for the State of Montana (one of the first in the nation), and the creation of the
Great Bear Wilderness
The Great Bear Wilderness is located in northern Montana, United States, within Flathead National Forest Created by an act of Congress in 1978, the wilderness comprises 286,700 acres (1,160 km²) and borders the Bob Marshall Wilderness on the ...
Area, the
Scapegoat Wilderness
The Scapegoat Wilderness consists of 239,936 acres (971 km2) spread across three different National Forests in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1972, the wilderness is located in Lewis and Clark, Helena and Lolo ...
Area, which bordered the
Bob Marshall Wilderness
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is a congressionally-designated wilderness area located in Western Montana region of the United States. It is named after Bob Marshall (1901–1939), an early forester in the federal government, conservationist, a ...
Area, bringing the total of the three to . The ''
Missoulian
The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...
'' was instrumental in restoring the
Clark Fork (river)
The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and ...
of the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
from a polluted, sterile river to a blue ribbon trout stream today. The paper also played a key role in the creation of a constitutional convention that produced a new state constitution.
Middle years
During the 1960s, he continued as publisher of the
Missoulian
The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...
in
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
. While in Montana he was elected Vice President of the Lee Newspapers of Montana, which included Missoula, Billings, Helena, Butte & Livingston. He was elected a director of Lee Enterprises in 1963 and served on the Board for thirty-seven years. In 1970 he moved to
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
and became the chief executive officer of
Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
, a national newspaper and media company. Schermer served as a director and as chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers Association in Washington, DC, now part of the
Newspaper Association of America
The News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America until 2016
In 1972 Lee Enterprises formed a joint-venture with Nippon Paint Company of Osaka, Japan and NAPP Systems, USA (now Macdermid), that manufactured printing plates in a facility in San Diego, CA for over 400 newspapers worldwide. Schermer served as chairman and CEO of the joint-venture for 12 years.
In 1978, at the end of China's Cultural Revolution he established the first joint venture of an American firm in China with People's Daily. He helped establish the English language newspaper, China Daily, and published China Trade News in this country. He was the first foreigner allowed to make an address in People's Daily. The joint venture placed the first advertising ever carried in People's Daily and other Chinese publications. Lee published several books on China including its first Official Tourist Guide in cooperation with the China International Tourist Agency. The joint venture was given the rights to place all advertising from the West in all of the publications in China. It also had the rights to publish all books coming out of China in the West other than in Japan.
Later years
In 1991, Schermer was responsible for merging the American Newspaper Publishers Association with the Newspaper Advertising Bureau and 5 other industry associations into the now 1500 member
Newspaper Association of America
The News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America until 2016
Schermer served as chairman of the National Board of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
for three years and remains on the board as an honorary trustee. In 1994 he received the Smithsonian's highest award, the Joseph Henry Medal. He serves on the board of The Anderson Ranch Art Center in
Snowmass Village, Colorado
Snowmass Village is a home rule municipality in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,826 at the 2010 census. A popular winter resort location for skiing and snowboarding, the town is well known as the location of the ...
as a life trustee, is a lifetime trustee of the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
and the University of Montana Foundation, and is a former trustee of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, the
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
and the
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation was established in 1983 to "promote understanding and cooperation among the nations and peoples of Asia and the United States." The Foundation honors Mike Mansfield (1903-2001), congressman from Montana, Se ...
.
Schermer Hall on the first floor of the West Wing of the Smithsonian Castle is named after Lloyd G. and Betty A. Schermer.
Schermer resides in Aspen and
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
with his wife Betty. They have two sons and five grandchildren.
Art
In 1993, with no previous training, Schermer took courses in drawing and watercolor. Since then, he has exhibited several works of original art. Three of his
monotype
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The ...
s were added to the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
in 2002. He was commissioned to do a type sculpture for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, entitled ''An America Puzzle'' He has completed large wood type sculptures for the
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
School of Journalism, the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
School of Journalism in
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
, the Knight Foundation Board Room in Miami, Florida, the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' building, and the home of ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' columnist
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global tr ...
.
Exhibitions
One Person Exhibition: Magidson Fine Art Gallery, Aspen, CO August 9 – 23, 2007
October 14, 2005, ''Roaring Fork Open''
Aspen Art Museum
Founded in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Aspen, Colorado. AAM exhibitions include drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations and electronic media.
Aspen Art Museum Building ...
, Aspen, CO
Adelson Gallery,
The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
, Summer 2006
Various Open Exhibitions 1998 – 2003 Red Brick Arts Center, Aspen, CO
The Art Institute of Tucson Gallery, Monotypes and Antique Wood Type Sculpture. December 10, 2010 – February 25, 2011
Public and museum collections
Type Sculpture: ''Live'', 47 x 34.5 inches acquired by Library of Congress
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
, Washington, DC
: Type Sculpture: ''An American Puzzle'' 48 x 96" completed in 2006 Located on the 3rd Floor of the Luce Foundation Center
: Monotypes: 3 monotypes on paper, not currently on view
The Freedom Forum's
Newseum
The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication.
The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...
, Washington, DC
: Type Sculpture: ''Gutenberg's Puzzle'' 60 x 120 inches, completed in 2007, Located in the Entrance Lobby of the Newseum
University of Montana
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
, School of Journalism, Missoula, MT
: Type Sculpture: ''Wisdom's Puzzle'' 36 x , Completed in 2004, installed February 14, 2005 in the Adler Building's Hall of Fame room.
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, School of Journalism, Iowa City, IA
Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
, Inc. Davenport, IA
: Type Sculpture: ''Wisdom's Puzzle I'', 60 x , Installed in the Board Room
The Knight Foundation, Board Room, Miami, FL
: Type Sculpture: ''Wisdom's Puzzle,'' 48 x , installed in the Knight Foundation Board Room
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
(CEO's Door), Washington, DC
: Type Sculpture: Door Installation, 96 x , CEO's Office of the Washington Post
The Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
, Aspen, CO
McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum
The McCormick Freedom Museum was the first museum in the United States dedicated to the First Amendment by the McCormick Foundation. It was open from April 11, 2006, until March 1, 2009. The museum offered visitors an interactive experience focu ...
, Chicago, IL
: Type Sculpture: ''A First Amendment Puzzle'', 90 x , Permanent Collection of the Museum
Media, General Corporation, Richmond, VA
Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with sever ...
, Davenport, IA 4 x wall sculpture
Commissions
Lobby of the Newseum, Washington, DC
: Type Sculpture: ''Gutenberg's Puzzle'' 60 x 120 inches, completed in 2007, Located in the Entrance Lobby of the Newseum
The New York Times, New York, NY 2007
: 2 panels 30" x 150" each installed in the 15th floor conference center
Tom Friedman,
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
columnist, 2007
: Type Sculpture: Commission, 43 x , Installed in their home
Board room of Morgan Stanley, New York, NY
: Type Sculpture completed 2008
Board room Knight Foundation, Miami, FL
: Type Sculpture: ''Wisdom's Puzzle,'' 48 x , installed in the Knight Foundation Board Room
Donald Reynolds Foundation, Las Vegas, NV
Video
: ''The Art of Lloyd Schermer'': A personal look at Lloyd Schermer and his art. 2007, produced by Digital Arts Foundation, Aspen, CO.
: Approximate running time: 36 minutes in 4 parts.
Author
''Kicking Rocks'' by Lloyd Schermer, 2008, Greenwich Publishing Group, hardcover
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...