Jeremiah B. Lighter--born on March 23rd, 1921 in Philadelphia to Julius and Sema Tabachnick Lighter--was an American artist, printmaker, book and graphic designer, typographer, illustrator, and teacher. After graduating from City College of New York, Lighter spent the majority of his life and career in New York City. Over the course of a career spanning from 1945 to 2008, he produced a body of work that includes advertisements, book design (for both commercial and scholastic presses), and original artworks, typically signing these works as “Lighter” or “Umy.”

Although he worked proficiently in a wide variety of mediums—including acrylics, pen and ink, and watercolors—Lighter had a special talent and inclination for woodcut prints, which he deployed across the spectrum of his design work. One of his woodcut prints was featured on the October 1954 cover of American Artist, while another (“Metamorphosis”) was featured prominently the catalogue of the 1956 “National Exhibition: Contemporary Arts of the United States.” His work, including both prints and watercolors, was featured in a number of exhibits and won international competitions, including the 2002 “Face to Face” competition at Stage Gallery.

During his career, Lighter was associated with a number of design firms and publishers. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he produced advertisements and illustrations for the typography firm Kurt H. Volk, Inc. while designing book covers for trade publishers such as Random House and Emerson Books. From the 1960s through the 1990s, Lighter designed scholastic books primarily for publishers Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Schocken, and Sheridan House.

Alongside his career as an artist and designer, Lighter was an educator, teaching courses in book design at The New School, the School of Visual Arts, and Queens College. He was also an active hiker, bicyclist, chess player, kite flyer, and model boat enthusiast.

Lighter passed away on October 10, 2013 in Manhattan, having survived his wife of forty years, Gladys Spielberg. He is survived by a niece, Marina Bokelman, and nephews Jon and Andrew Bokelman.