Born March 30 in Chicago, Illinois, the second of three sons of Ukrainian-born parents Louis and Ida Lerner
1922
Attends Saturday children’s art classes at the Art Institute of Chicago under Dudley Crott Watson
1931
Attends the National Academy of Art, Chicago
1932
Begins to make photographs (“Girl With Two Faces”)
1933
Studies painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago under Louis Rittman
1935-1937
Studies painting with Samuel Ostrofsky
1935-1938
Photographs Maxwell Street, Chicago
1936
Travels across the country with friend and writer Murray Gitlin and photographs the Great Depression in Southern Illinois, New Mexico, and San Francisco
1937 - 1938
Attends the New Bauhaus to study sculpture with Alexander Archipenko
Studies with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Gyorgy Kepes, and Henry Holmes Smith
Creates the light box and begins other experimental photography
1939
New Bauhaus reopens as School of Design of Chicago
Lerner participates both as student and teacher
1940
Serves as Photo Workshop teacher at the School of Design
1941
Becomes head of Photo Workshop
Co-authors with Gyorgy Kepes on “The Creative Use of Light”
1942
With fellow student Charles Niedringhaus develops a machine for forming plywood which was used to design his bent-plywood chairs
1942 or 43
Graduates from School of Design
1943-1945
Works during the war as a civilian light consultant and designer for the US Navy
in New York
Continues makes photographs during this time (“Eye in Window” 1943)
1944
Works on the special effects for a film entitled “Chopin” directed by Senkalski
and made for UNESCO
1945
Returns to become Dean of Faculty and Students and Chairman of the Product
Design Workshop at Institute of Design (School of Design changed name 1944)
1946
Named Acting Educational Director of Institute of Design following the death of
Moholy-Nagy
1949
Leaves Institute of Design and starts design firm, Lerner-Bredendiek Design,
which later becomes Lerner Design Associates which he continues with until 1973
1952-1954
Visiting instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
1950-1960’s
Recognized nationally as designer of furniture, building systems, and glass and
plastic containers
1967
July 1, marries concert pianist Kiyoko Lerner
1968-1972
Visiting professor in design philosophy at University of Illinois at Chicago
