In 1951, Kenneth Forman and Camille Lavieri arrived separately in Storrs. Ken began his 39-year teaching career in the University of Connecticut Art Department. Camille entered UConn as a freshman. Serendipitously, she had been scheduled in Ken’s first art appreciation class. They were married in 1957. During the following years, they raised three sons and were active in many community activities.

Ken exhibited his paintings, drawings and other works of art in numerous museums and galleries in New England and Mexico. The family had traveled to Mexico in 1961 and England in 1968, during Ken’s sabbatical leaves. Many of his paintings were inspired by landscapes and architecture in this country and abroad.

Camille received a BA from UConn in 1955 and an MLS from the University of Rhode Island in 1968. She was employed as a librarian in the University of Connecticut Libraries until 1991.Twenty years ago she began creating fiber art. She and Ken collaborated on a number of wall hangings. One of those, “Flowered Fields,” is displayed in the B Level Reading Room, adjacent to the Stevens Gallery.

After they retired in the early 1990s, the Formans traveled regularly to France, often living in Paris and Provence for several months each year. In 1998 their lives changed suddenly after Camille was disabled by a stroke. During her recovery she turned to watercolor painting and writing. Her memoir, A Perfect Time for Butterflies, was published in 2001.

Babbidge Library, Stevens Gallery
Curator: Norman Stevens