The Trustees of the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust are proud to administer the Artistic Works of Ora Lerman and the Soaring Gardens Artists' Retreat.   When the distinguished American painter, Ora Lerman, died in 1998, she left a substantial body of figurative paintings, charcoals and watercolors. She stipulated in her will that all her of her artistic output was to be put into a Trust, which arranges publications, exhibits and sales.

Ora also expressed the wish that when her husband, David Ostwald, no longer wanted to use it, Soaring Gardens, her country home and studio in the bucolic hills of Pennsylvania, should become a retreat for artists. David decided to put the farm into the Trust so that, when he is not using it, Ora's vision might be fulfilled sooner rather than later. In the summer of 2000 Soaring Gardens saw its first resident artists. The Trustees and the Board members (Gertrude Gerlach, Joan Marter, Margaret Mathews-Berenson, David Ostwald, Ann Sutherland Harris, Roberta Waddell) welcome artists' inquiries for future residencies.