* Herman Cherry; Abstract Painter Had Gallery in L.A.

Herman Cherry, 83, an abstract painter whose Expressionist canvases were known on both coasts. Raised in Philadelphia where he studied art, Cherry moved to Los Angeles with his family when still in his teens and worked for 20th Century Fox helping to design sets. He studied in Europe and then New York City with Thomas Hart Benton before returning to Los Angeles and establishing a gallery where he staged his first solo show in 1934. Known for the color and shapes of his work, Cherry drew murals for the Works Progress Administration during the Depression before settling permanently on the East Coast after World War II. On Friday in Manhattan of complications of heart disease.