In Memoriam: Janet Byrne Neiman
Our thoughts and condolences go out to the Neiman family and LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation at the loss of their beloved matriarch and co-founder, Janet Byrne Neiman, who passed away peacefully on May 4, 2025 at the age of 101.
Together with her husband, celebrated artist LeRoy Neiman, Janet helped to establish the The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation in 1986. By LeRoy's death in 2012, the Foundation had awarded over $20 million in grants to various educational organizations in support of the arts, and has continued that work to this day by supporting opportunities for students to study visual arts and promoting visual arts education throughout the US and the world.
The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies at Columbia University School of the Arts was founded by a generous endowment from LeRoy and Janet Neiman in 1996 to promote printmaking through education, production and exhibition of prints. The Neiman Center provides our students—as well as established artists—a rich environment in which to investigate and produce images through a myriad of printmaking techniques including intaglio, lithography, screenprint, relief, photography, and digital imaging. The Center also provides artists with the opportunity to showcase their work in The LeRoy Neiman Gallery, which hosts a variety of exhibitions throughout the year and gives students’ work public exposure in a professional setting while also bringing outside voices to the Neiman Center, creating a rich environment of display and dialogue.
An artist in her own right, Janet's love of drawing and design led her to attend classes at School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and through her decades in the fashion advertising industry and helping to manage her husband's career, Janet continued to paint and was featured in exhibitions at Columbia University and SAIC. In 2015 SAIC honored her with an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of the positive impact she has had on student life and arts education throughout the country.
Tomas Vu-Daniel, LeRoy Neiman Professor of Professional Practice and Artistic Director of the LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, had this to share from his memories of Janet:
"When I heard about Janet's passing, all of my earliest memories of LeRoy and Janet came flooding back to me. Walking into their incredible artist spaces in the Hotel des Artistes building, I distinctly remember their incredibly strong devotion to each other. LeRoy understood that his larger than life presence was important but even more so he understood that Janet was his rock. She was his confidante, his greatest defender and he was hers. She was kind and welcoming. I remember bringing my tiny new baby to visit, terrified and exhausted—Janet took him in her arms and lightly laughed. I wandered off in a daze and was lucky enough to stumble into Janet's studio. Her paintings were quiet, intimate and confident, just like her. I suddenly understood their love story."
Janet is survived by nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, friends, and a foundation to continue her life legacy and work.