Lloyd Garrison Reiss

PVT in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co C

ASN#12134980

Born 1921 in NJ, Died 1995

Artist

County of residence at enlistment: Chautauqua County, NY

Other residence(s): Newark, NJ; New York, NY; Hicksville, NY

United States Army, did not accompany the unit to Europe

Occupation before the war: student

College education before the war: 2 years

College education after the war: Hunter College; Hofstra University (master's)

Notes: discharged from the 603rd for disability from a pre-existing condition, Nov 30, 1943

Source: 603rd Camouflage Engineer Roster provided by W. Anderson; Company C roster

Lloyd Reiss was born on April 29, 1921 in Newark, NJ, the younger of two sons. His father was a dental surgeon; both of his parents had been born in Romania.

Lloyd registered for the draft on February 15, 1942 and enlisted on August 15. When he enlisted, he stated that he had completed two years of college and was living in Chautauqua County, NY. Lloyd was an art student and, like other art students in New York, he found his way into the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion.

However, while stationed at Fort Meade with the unit, he was discharged from the Army on November 30, 1943 due to a disability caused by a pre-existing condition.

He returned to school, earning a bachelor's degree from Hunter College and a master's degree from Hofstra University. Shortly after February 26, 1945 (the date of his marriage license) he married Clara McPherson in Manhattan.

In January, 1949, Lloyd headed off to France on the Queen Mary, intending to spend two years abroad. He and Clara returned to New York in September, 1950.

Lloyd's art practice was in ceramics and pottery, and he established the Clay Art Workshop, a ceramics studio in Glen Cove, NY. He also taught in the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District and at Hofstra University, Adelphi University, the Nassau County Museum of Art (where he also served as director of alternative arts for a period in the 1980s), and the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center. A former student, Barry Cohn, said that Lloyd was a "loving, caring" teacher, encouraging his students to "go beyond their comfort zones."

On September 2, 1960 he married June Moran in Greenwich, CT. (The disposition of his first marriage, sometime in the 1950s, is unknown.) June brought three children to the marriage, and they became Lloyd's stepchildren.

He exhibited his work throughout his adult life, including at the Hammer Galleries in Manhattan, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and in local venues on Long Island, where he lived. According to his obituary, he also "developed a keen interest in Asian art, and he lectured on that topic at the American Museum of Natural History."

While Lloyd was only in the Ghost Army for about 15 months, he clearly established a relationship with fellow Ghost Army soldier Art Singer. Art became a renowned bird painter after the war, and in 1984 a New York Times article described a collaboration between Singer and Reiss; Singer painted birds on Reiss-made pots. '''I started out knowing I wanted to paint a specific bird or birds on a piece,' Mr. Singer said, ''but I looked at it from the standpoint of the shape and what bird would harmonize with the shape. For example, if it is a fat little bowl, I might want to use a fat little bird, and if it is an elongated bowl, taller than wide, I might want to use a graceful elongated bird like a heron or egret.' Working on pottery is more complicated than painting on a flat surface, according to the artist. 'You can't sketch it in pencil,' he said. 'You have to work directly with the paints. As I am going around the bowl, I carefully look and study the shapes, for you don't get a second chance.'"

Lloyd's wife, June died in 1990, and he died of lymphoma on November 15, 1995 in Plainview, New York.