Jane Lawson, 91; a founder of the Orange County Museum of Art
Jane Lawson, 91, one of the founding members of what became the Orange County Museum of Art, died Dec. 29 of cancer at her home in Newport Beach, her daughter-in-law, Diane Lawson, said.
Lawson was one of 13 women volunteers who organized as the Fine Arts Patrons in the early 1960s and brought modern art to Newport Beach. In 1962 they opened a gallery on the top floor of Balboa Pavilion, and six years later it became the Newport Harbor Art Museum.
By 1996 the gallery had become the Orange County Museum of Art, with Lawson continuing her involvement. In 2000 she received a Cultural Legacy Award from Arts Orange County for her work at the museum.
Born Dec. 5, 1915, in Los Angeles, Lawson married real estate developer Howard B. Lawson in 1936. They moved to Balboa Peninsula in 1952 and lived there year-round.
Lawson also volunteered for many years with the Orange County Philharmonic Society and Children’s Home Society of California.
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