Mirjana Lehner Dragić ( sh-Cyrl, Мирјана Лехнер Драгић; born 28 July 1936) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n painter.

Biography

Early days

Mirjana Lehner Dragić was born on 28 July 1936 in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, to Alfred and Mirjam Lehner. Her father was from

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, and her mother was a member of the known Bosnian Jewish family Papo.Jevrejski pregled (Glasilo Saveza Jevrejskih opština Srbije); Barbara Panić; Što u srcu, to na platnu; pp. 12-15; godina XXV, broj 1, February/March 2016 After the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she hid with her family in the countryside near Belgrade, then in the village of Vučak near

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

, and later fled to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

with her aunt.Aleksandar Nećak, 2011, pp. 140–141 While Mirjana and her parents survived

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, almost her entire maternal family was taken to the Sajmište concentration and extermination camp. After the end of the war, Miriam Lehner could not accept the fact that she had lost almost all her family; she decided then to leave the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

in the First Aliya in 1948, leaving Mirjana in Belgrade with her father Alfred.

Career

Lehner attended high school at the First Women's Gymnasium. She graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade in 1963, majoring in graphics. She received in 1965 the status of "freelance artist", becoming a member of the " Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts and Designers of Serbia" (ULUPUDS) in 1970. After that, she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for a year and a half, exhibiting her works in several galleries such as "La Bateay Lavoir" and "Lafayette". Later, she studied in Italy, Greece, and Israel. The motifs of her paintings were at the beginning of her career mostly about cities on the coast of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

and the Sea itself, as well as landscapes of Serbia. At the same time, she was engaged in illustration and graphics for books and art-pedagogical work. During the years 1972 and 1973, she taught book printing and illustration in the technical high school ''Likovni tehničari'' in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. For many years, she worked in the area of printed arts in institutions such as in the Department of Archeology of the

National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia () is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square (Belgrade), Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three stree ...

, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, the

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Novi Sad, the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad and the Museum of Srem in

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

. At the Second International Conference of the Biopolitics International Organization held in Athens in 1988, she participated as the first environmental painter in a gathering of this type. Since 1995, she has been a member of the Ben Uri Museum in London. Since the 1990s, she has focused her art on the history and traditions of the Jewish people and especially Sephardic Jews and The Holocaust in German-occupied Serbia.U GALERIJI OBOJENE SVETLOSTI OTVORENA IZLOŽBA NJIH NE SMEMO ZABORAVITI
SAT TV For almost two decades, she led the art section "Leon Koen" in the Jewish Community of Belgrade, and she designed the scenography for the performances of the Belgrade Jewish Theater ''Kralj David'' in

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

.Mira Lehner: predavanje zenskoj sekciji - text Barbara Panic
/ref> With the scenography for the play The Violinist on the Roof in 2001, she participated in the 12th International Triennial of Theater Scenography and Costumes in Novi Sad. She has also won the ULUPUDS annual award for the exhibitions "Bridges of Life" (1993), "My Aunt Erne's Lace" (2002) and "Synagogue as Artistic Heritage" (2006). She has also designed the Hebrew Calendars of the Jewish Community of Serbia for the years for 5762 (2001-02) and 5767 (2007-08), along with the exhibition "The Sarajevo Haggadah as an Inspiration" at the Jewish Museum of Belgrade.

Awards

In 2013, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Applied Artists and Designers Association of Serbia.

Bibliography

*Nećak, Aleksandar (2011). ''Znameniti Jevreji Srbije'', Beograd: Savez jevrejskih opština Srbije.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragic, Mirjana Lehner 1936 births Living people 20th-century Serbian painters 21st-century Serbian painters 20th-century women artists 21st-century women artists Artists from Belgrade Jewish women artists 21st-century Serbian Jews