Okay. If you’re a regular reader you already know all about Laura Perea, but if you’re new here and want details there are a lot and they are here.
Part 1. Who is “L. Perea”?
Part 2. Laura? Is that you?
Part 3. MORE ART DISCOVERED
In short, I found a bunch of strange art at an estate sale that I have been obsessed with. They are tattered but incredible and were by an artist named “L. Perea” who seemed to be documenting her life in a mental institution in the early to mid 50s. After a lot of research (and help by fellow readers, researchers, librarians) we theorized that “L. Perea” was probably Laura Perea, a brilliant young woman who graduated summa cum laude from college in the 1930s but was institutionalized (along with her twin sister by the 40s). Her sister killed herself in the 40s and by the 50s Laura was institutionalized in a local San Antonio mental institution where we suspect she created this haunting and unsettling art. There are no known photos of Laura or her sister. Laura was the last living descendent in her family when she died in the 90s. No one alive seems to have any memory of her. She just…disappears. But I wanted her to have a voice, so that she could be recognized rather than be hidden.
I’d written that I can relate so much to Laura, because I also struggle with mental illness and I also use art and writing to tame the beast in my head. I’d written that I didn’t know if we would ever know anything more about Laura, but that I hoped she’d gotten out of the institutions and that she’d continued to create her incredible art throughout her life. I also wrote that I knew this was unlikely, and that realistically she probably she died hidden away in a mental institution, like other members of her family, and like members of mine.
Richard Marini at the San Antonio Express was also fascinated by the story and wrote this piece, which was so popular it made it to the actual paper:
We crossed our fingers as we waited for someone from Laura’s past to read it and recognize her and reach out, but there were no new leads.
And then I got covid and had to postpone the small showing I was planning of Laura’s work at Nowhere Bookshop and I basically fell into a mini coma. But when I came out of that coma a few days ago I found that Laura’s death certificate that I’d requested from the state had finally arrived in the mail. And it was the key to unlocking so much.
First off, her occupation was listed:
“Usual occupation: Author/Artist.”
SHE NEVER STOPPED CREATING, Y’ALL.
At the time of her death (of heart failure at age 80) she was no longer in the mental institution and was living at a local, assisted-living nursing home. Her next of kin was listed as “Kim (withholding her name until I get permission) – Friend.” And after a lot of digging I thought I might have found Kim on facebook. I sent her a long, strange message with links to everything and apologized if she was the wrong person who was probably now baffled by all of this. And within an hour I had a response.
“I am the person you’re looking for.”
She explained that she’d been Laura’s caregiver for several years, and that she had really enjoyed her company. She was in Florida until the 17th but she wants to meet with me when she gets back to San Antonio so she can tell me more about Laura and also see if she still has some of her drawings. I literally cried.
So. Perhaps only a few of her pieces survived, but she kept producing art…so much so that she considered it her main occupation. She is remembered…by someone who cared for her and enjoyed being with her. And by us…people she could never have imagined she’d touched so deeply decades after she was gone. She may never have been able to live on her own without help but she didn’t die alone in a mental institution, like so many others. And perhaps there are more of her pieces out in the world, just waiting to be discovered. And perhaps today you will create something that will speak to a future generation. Or maybe I will. That is the magic of art.
I’m going to be showing Laura’s art at Nowhere Bookshop on the 14th (with a special reception at 5 to talk about Laura, mental health, and art) and I’m so happy that I’ll be able to add these details to her life story. Come see us. It’s free. And I’m going to have an online showing after I visit with Kim so that you can come and we can talk about all of it from the comfort of your own home. I’ll keep you posted on that date when I have it.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me.
PS. After I saw “AUTHOR/ARTIST” written on the death certificate I did a deeper dive into old archives to see if I could find anything she had written and I haven’t yet, BUT…
I found a book about Minnie Fisher Cunningham, a Texas suffragette who led the cause to help Texas women win the right to vote in state elections in 1918. The book says she announced her candidacy for Presidency in the late 50s at the San Antonio Democratic Women for Good Government Club. The top people in her campaign were all women. And the reason we know these details because of an election leaflet that was created by…Laura Perea.
Is it the same Laura? Considering that she’s a San Antonio woman whose last drawings I have were sketches that were criticizing the government, it’s very possible. A sweet research archivalist is currently digging though old archival boxes to see if they can find a copy so we can see what it looked like.
I’ll keep you posted.
HUGE.
THE POWER OF WOMEN LOOKING AFTER EACH OTHER. And Librarians. And Author/Artists. This is all so compelling and powerful. I’m so glad we’re all getting to know her better.
WOW! What interesting finds. I hope you keep it up.
This is amazing! I am so excited about all of this! And so glad that when Laura died, she had a friend. Can’t wait for the virtual show!
This is so uplifting and beautiful. Thank you for sharing the story, the art, and the fellowship!
I’m crying too… bless you for giving her a voice again! And who knows who you will inspire??
Getting a bit teary eyed………..
Amazing news.
Thank you, I really needed a positive, hopeful story about art and life today!
I’ve been hooked on this story since the first posting…and the story keeps coming – I just LOVE IT! …all because you cared “beyond” just looking at drawings, etc…Thank you for being you (scars and all).
I’m so excited I’m crying happy tears at my desk. She got out. She had friends, she made more art, and did more things that we have yet to discover.
This is just lovely. Thank you for your brilliant sleuthing and for bringing Laura Perea’s life and her amazing art into the light. I am in awe of both of you. I hope your showing on the 14th is fabulously well attended, and leads to many more enlightening conversations about mental health and art.
Tears over here too! You and Laura are each other’s heroes, and I am HERE FOR IT
Facinating as always Jenny! I am looking forward to the online discussion. It’s wonderful to know that someone cared for Laura.
Obsessed with this story. Thanks so much for digging in and keeping us posted!
This is AMAZING and I’m grateful that you took us with you through this mystery!
I wish I could teleport from CA to gooooo 🌻🌈✨
I love this SO SO MUCH. I have spent the last few years doing this kind of research in the process of writing a book that began with a diary from 1926 and delves into family history, women’s lives, and so much more. It is a deeply wonderful feeling to be getting to know someone whom the world has largely forgotten. And the work you are doing to bring connections to Laura really matters for so many reasons. Thank you. (And if you ever want to talk research strategies, please reach out. I’ve spent oodles of time poring over public records and archives and maybe can help?)
I love this so much.
I’m not crying, YOU’RE CRYING 😭
(WE’RE BOTH CRYING. ~ Jenny)
Oh I just burst into tears. Being alone as I age is something that’s been on my mind lately and this was something I didn’t know I needed.
Once again, real life triumphs fiction. Following this story has been fascinating!
I am crying. I don’t believe that this is a coincidence. It’s serendipitous ( or serendipity, grammar police).
I love that her story is being told and that her art is being seen and reflected on and that we can have conversations about mental health and how our mental health issues don’t take away all of the incredible things we can do in this world and the lives we can touch in positive ways. Thank you for rediscovering her voice and always using yours to shine a beacon of light and hope into the world.
Yes! Wonderful follow up!
If you hadn’t uncovered and amplified this, yet another woman’s story (and a woman’s art) would be lost to history. This is one of the coolest things I think you’ve done with your platform. So many women’s creative talents were ignored, buried, or just lost in time even without the stigma and difficulty of institutionalization and mental illness (never mind how many women were institutionalized for things like speaking their minds or being unwilling to conform/obey). I love all of this!
Yes, Leigh, and Jenny, I AM crying. So often I wonder if I will be remembered after my death, and if my life has any meaning. Yes, I am in a depressive episode, but this shines a light for me. We ALL have significance, even if our names are lost to history. Thank you for bringing this story to the world.
(I so feel this. And I’m so glad you’re here. ~ Jenny)
This is MARVELOUS!!!!
Wow! I’m in total awe! Of you for persevering in the search for more details of Laura’s life, & keeping on with your own art. Of Laura for continuing to make art no matter what. It’s a good news day!
Awesome! Brava, Jenny👏 Wish I wasn’t going to be out of town on the 14th:(
I LOVE this journey that you’re giving us the privilege to join you on. It’s truly beautiful. Thank you.
Tears, Doll! Doesn’t everyone want to be remembered? Now there are hopefully hundreds who know her amazing story. I would enjoy prints of her soulful work. It just speaks to those of us that need it. You have used your Covid downtime in an amazing way. Many thanks.
I signed up (I think) for the showing you scheduled in May, but had to cancel because of your Covid. Do I need to sign up again for the presentation on the 14th?
That’s a good question. I don’t think so, but if so I’ll post a link to it when I find out. It’s free and I think we were just making sure we didn’t have so many people there that it caused a problem, but I think it was manageable. 🙂 ~ Jenny)
I’m sorry….I have to…third para from the end “…a Texas suffragette who led the cause…” I don’t normally do it but I feel this is so important, it needs to be corrected. Looking forward to what more you find.
(Always correct me! Thanks! ~ Jenny)
I wonder if you could create prints of her artwork and sell them with the profits going to help people in need?? You are such a wonderful human being, and you have such a large following, I would bet you could raise quite a bit of $$ with this incredible story that is attached to Laura.
(I’m looking into it with all profits going to NAMI but it’s a little complicated. Definitely still a possibility though. 🙂 ~ Jenny)
Oh Jenny, that is astronomical and wonderful!!! Good on ya. Love, me
As an archives and special-collections librarian who is big-time into geneaology… this is kind of thing I LIVE FOR. I’ll admit to being all sniffly at this story, and a wee bit jealous, because this is absolutely FANTASTIC. Thank you for bringing another name and face and story out of the oblivion she was consigned to. ♥️♥️♥️
What an amazing adventure this has become! Thank you, Jen.
This is so awesome!!!!
I feel like Laura has been reborn and is now reliving through the recognition of her art.
You made this possible, along with all the people who helped you to figure out who this artist was and to tell her story.
Thank you.
You have warped the universe to solve an unsolvable mystery. I am in awe.
😳😳😳😳❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️
I surely hope that Laura and Ann and Molly have been organizing the Feminist Ghosts of Texas because hooo doggy….
Hourrah !!! Because you never gave up you found the truth
This is amazing!
You probably already know about it, but the UNT Portal to Texas History has searchable newspaper archives. It’s a shot in the dark, but I’ve found some good bits on occasion.
This brought years to my eyes too. I’m so happy you discovered her. ❤️
Grrrrrrrrlllllllll! 🤯 This is the most beautiful thing I’ve “been a part of” in recent memory. Your efforts to reveal Laura is extraordinary. ❤️
I don’t think it was an accident that you were the person to find these long-lost-forgotten-misplaced artworks. What a gift for everyone involved. I realize that reproducing them w/out permission would be a legal issue, but who knows? Maybe it will all work out! I could definitely see these being a fundraiser for NAMI. And also, let me just say that the originals belong in a museum. They are that good! Great story, Jenny. Thank you for sharing.
You have brought her to a new audience and her struggles to a new level of empathy and understanding. Thank you for persisting.
This is an amazing update.
This find is amazing. I am so grateful you brought this all to light 💕
Thank you for keeping this woman’s story alive. She didn’t die nameless, faceless, or forgotten.
“I am the person you’re looking for.”
Literal chills. Tears welling.
Hurray for happier-than-expected endings!
Wow. Just wow! What an amazing story! SO wished I lived in Texas so I could be there on the 14th. Look forward to joining virtually when you select a date.
Speechless; other than to say, what a friggin’ good story!!!
I love all of this so much. I can’t wait to see what else you can find!
Wow, that’s quite the deep hole that you dug at until you brought it into the light…
I’m sure Laura Perea is smiling somewhere
this is marvelous and yes, crying…Laura will be ever present for many to see the power of her art because YOU took the lead and shared this with us who love you and now we get to love Laura along with all of the others who will be touched by her art and yours! Thank you for your persistence even when you were ill! Love and hugs!
This is freaking AMAZING news! So excited to get a chance to learn more about Laura!
Ain’t going to lie Jenny, my eyes are more than a little damp right now too. You are such a wonderful person, and it just delights me, that her talent is being acknowledge, and her story told. It’s a gift that not many get, and I’m just glad I can be along for the ride. Maybe she’s watching over you now too.
So, so, so very incredible. My heart is happy knowing she made it to a ripe old age outside of the institution. Keep doing what you do, Jenny! This is so worthwhile; her life is being celebrated because of your diligence!💗
Hats off to you for recognizing an artist’s talent and courage to reveal the conditions in which she and her companions lived. Speaking truth to power is never easy. Her ability to express herself creatively was so impressive, and your recognition of Laura’s reality is sensitive and perceptive. Thank you for introducing her to us and reminding us that we should always share what is most important to us, no matter how difficult it may be.
Wonderful news! Thank-you so much for all the work you’ve put in on this.
I cried too. “I am the one you’re looking for. “
Just WOW!,, I wish I lived close by to come to the reception. Alas I am in NY. I will almost patiently wait for your online talk about it! Can’t wait !!😻
This is such an amazing journey! Is there a way for people who can’t get to San Antonio to join in on your exhibition?
The American Visionary Art Museum un Baltimore might be interesed in this.
This is amazing Jenny!! Should you want to promote her work further once you have more info, consider having a showing at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore MD. They are devoted to “outsider” artists and especially individuals with mental health diagnoses.
Fantastic. After touching so many of us with her rediscovered art. I’m so glad she is once again a cherished human being. I find her art as I find yours Jenny touching and poignant. I’m glad she is once more amongst us.
Seriously thinking about driving out to you (finally!) from College Station to see her art. Art keeps me connected.
Author/Artist. Art. Instant sobs from me! 😭😭 Then I just kept crying. Kim! Wow!
I think I need sleep, haha.
I’m sure loving the way this story is progressing.
I sincerely believe that besides that amazing kid of yours, this is the greatest thing you’ve ever done. Every time I think you can’t amaze me more, you find a way. Sweet mother of Bowie, you are awesome.
Your Pal,
Storm the Klingon
I may have missed this from your earlier post, but I’m wondering if there was some connection between Laura and the person whose estate owned the art? Not a relative but maybe a nurse, physician,carer?
(No, he was an antique dealer and couldn’t remember where or when he’d picked them up. ~ Jenny)
I’m so excited! I can’t wait to read the next installment!
So awesome! Well done, super sleuth!
Oh, Jenny, I HAVE CHILLS. This just blows my mind… Laura’s story resonates so much with me, and I just want to cry. If I could be there in person, I so would, but I’ll be following closely– as closely as I can from Arkansas, anyway. Thank you for all of this. Sending all the hugs.
Wow, this hit me on many levels. She AND her twin sister committed to an institution? I wonder if they truly had mental illness, or were they just women who were different from the “norm”? And then Laura’s sister kills herself, and Laura has to be there alone. Am I reading that correctly? Oh, my heart hurts. Thank you Jenny and all the others, who are tracking down the details. It’s important that we expose how mental health was treated in the past, so we don’t make the same mistakes in the present. (Nelly Bly comes to mind.) I anxiously await the online version of her show.
I’m filled with hope to learn that not only did Ms. Perea continue creating her whole life, but also she used her talent to support important causes. Bless you for lifting her out of obscurity. Every woman who worries about being forgotten and alone should have an angel like you.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have loved every moment of this and have had a similar sense of comfort to what you described. Mental illness persists. Art endures.
Yay!! Sounds like you’ve found her! Can’t wait to hear how your conversation with her friend goes!
I absolutely LOVE this entire story. What a wonderful thing you have done and shared. Thank you so much!
This is fantastic news! I love that being her occupation on her death certificate. Can’t wait to hear more after your visit with her friend Kim.
I am fascinated by your deep dive into the the origin of these haunting pieces. Thanks for your dedication to telling Laura’s story.
This is absolutely amazing AND powerful. The stories that people hold are impactful, real, and true. This is a great bit of work you’re doing. You should be proud!
This is incredible. Way to unravel the mystery !
Beyond cool!!!
This has to be the most touching thing I have every read (I read ALL the parts!). I love a good mystery and this one definitely spears you in the heart with good intentions. I hope you have a good meeting with Kim and I hope you get to at least see some pictures of Laura Perea <3
Whoah. Almost makes me wish we still lived in Austin. Almost. 😉
It’s beautiful that you’re bringing this talented woman into the present light, Jenny. Thank you for having the curiosity to look further into the history behind those haunting pieces of artwork you found–and to share it with us.
I love her art and her story. Thanks for sharing it! I really don’t know how I missed it. I wish I lived near your bookstore to come to the showing but I’m in Ohio so I can’t. I hope everything goes well and you raise a lot of money. It’s great that you are raising money for NAMI. I think when I was first diagnosed, they helped me a lot on info about all of them. I have a really bad memory disorder so I can’t really remember, but i think it was NAMI. Anyway, have fun! Much love and hugs, Liana
What an amazing story, I’m so happy it’s being shared. 💕💕
Wow, such an amazing story and so perfect that you found her work! I would love to see more of her work and will watch for the virtual show.
Profound…. Chills…. Tears…. Grateful to you💖😭
This is so exciting! I’m so glad she is remembered and cared about!
As an artist (potter) and a person with life long mental illness struggles, I love this so much. It means something to me on a deep level- almost a different plane of existence- that you’ve done this for her. For you. For us.
Laura is not literally my family, but she could easily be. We have this history as well.
Laura is changing what I am doing with an art project. I realized I am short-changing myself. Thank you for these posts.
Thank you for following up on this. Her work is incredible.
This has just been a wonderful mystery and I think you can add ‘sleuth’ to your occupation now! Librarians are amazing people whom I admire and they have played such important roles in my life, from close friends to coworkers. We should all go thank a librarian for their contributions to improving quality of life for the communities where they live. Thank you and Kim for sharing Laura with us.
Confidential to @AmericaFerrera – wouldn’t this make a great movie? Producer’s Guild here you come‽
I searched her name on my Newspapers.com account and she wrote letters to the editor of the San Antonio Express in 1965 and 1967 against the Vietnam War.
Jenny, your brilliance and compassion hold a candle to none. I love how touched you were by these art pieces and how like a sweet little bulldog, you didn’t let go until you put the pieces all together. As a writer and artist struggling with depression and anxiety myself, I have been more than moved by your perseverance and motivation to figure this all out. And it gives me some hope that my own work won’t be tossed into some dumpster when I shuffle off this mortal coil, and that I too may be remembered. Thank you – you are loved .
So. Damn. Awesome.
We are touching one another …. throughout time ….
Basically, we are eternal.
Waits on you to “get your shit together” as I would buy at least one of those prints. Thanks for all you are and do!
This is so neat! She lives on. ❤️
This is amazing.
Actually, a lot of artists struggled with mental health throughout their lifetimes. Van Gogh created some of his most poignant art in a mental institution. He was lucky to have a brother so he was not forgotten, but if you told him how huge he would be after his death, he probably wouldn’t believe you.
Which begs the question, is it worth it to be famous after you die? I mean, it’s great for others but for an individual, as a person… they don’t really care about all the fame. I often wonder about that. I would probably pick posthumous obscurity as long as my life is OK. I am plebeian like that….
“Nevertheless, she persisted.”
You are amazing. I greatly appreciate your work and look forward to information from the caretaker, the book, and the movie! Towanda!
Thank you for sharing her with us.
Just like me to randomly pop in and miss the chance to meet you and show you my art by 2 days.
Like everyone else, that made me cry.
The Artist, the institution, the political passion, and your obsession to get to the bottom of it.
💜
I just barely graduated from an intensive outpatient therapy program because insurance decided that I was done. I love your work and your company on my journey. I shared your books and your blog in my groups. Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate the company on my path through my own mind.