Obituary
HERTA LAGER KANE 1928 - 2021
Beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, passed away on December 24,
2021 surrounded by family. Predeceased by her parents, Amelia and Julius Lager, and
husband, Dr. Ernest Kane. Survived by daughters, Vivien and Deborah Kane, brother
Dr. Eric Lager, grandchildren David and Sarah, and nieces and nephews.
Herta was born in Vienna, Austria in 1928 and came to New York with her parents and
brother in 1941 fleeing Nazi persecution. She pursued art and design at the Fashion
Institute of Technology and the Cooper Union in New York. She married Ernest Kane,
also a holocaust survivor in 1951 and had her two daughters in 1952 and 1953, with the
family moving from New York to Albany and eventually to Buffalo in 1955. While raising
her children, she studied Art History to become a docent lecturer at the Albright Knox Art
Gallery in Buffalo which she did for several years. She then completed a Bachelor of
Fine Arts in Graphic Design and then a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the State
University of New York at Buffalo. She first was adjunct faculty teaching painting at the
University of Buffalo and then was an Assistant Professor for many years in the Design
Department at the State University College at Buffalo from which she retired in 1998.
In 1971 she won First Prize at the 33rd Western New York Exhibition held at the
Albright- Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo. Her work is in the collection of the Burchfield
Penney Art Center also in Buffalo, New York. Her paintings were abstract explorations
of shape and color, often with shaped canvases.
Herta encouraged her children and grandchildren to have art in their lives. Her
granddaughter Sarah has chosen painting and sculpture as a career and her daughter
Deborah also paints.
Herta pursued excellence in all her endeavors whether large or small. She enjoyed
visiting museums and galleries, attending orchestral and chamber music concerts, and
was an avid reader and pursuer of in depth knowledge.
In 2002 she moved from Buffalo to the Philadelphia area to be involved in her
grandchildren’s lives. Later she suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease which progressed
relatively slowly but eventually took her from us.
In Herta’s memory, donations can be made to the Alzheimers Association
Please click the following link to join:
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Arrangements by Amherst Memorial Chapel. www.amherstmemorialchapel.com