Narrator from Weaving Women's Words: Baltimore Stories

Esta (Mrs. Herman) Maril

Social worker, innovator and arts enthusiast, Esta Maril has focused endless energy on enhancing the social welfare of children and promoting the arts. Born in 1921, Esta's childhood was heavily influenced by her mother's role as the family's main breadwinner. Esta majored in English at Johns Hopkins University and spent summers working at Hutzler's Department Store. Believing that her life had been too sheltered, Esta pursued social work, graduating with a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s. Esta directed a mental health clinic in Baltimore County and worked in private practice before her marriage in 1948 to Herman Maril, whom she met through their mutual interest in art. Following the birth of their children, David and Nadja, Esta worked at The Park School, creating a mother-tot program that emphasized the socialization of young children and parenting skills for mothers. Esta and her husband spent summers actively involved in the community of artists in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Since Herman's death in 1986, Esta has been organizing her husband's archives and art collection and is writing an account of the couple's lifelong involvement in the arts.


	I rapped on the door of Mr. Maril's studio and I said, "You don't remember me, I'm sure, but years ago when I was in high school I brought my portfolio to you, and you were very kind. I always wanted to thank you." He was flattered and said, "How about having dinner with me next week?" And that was it. I always say that the moral of this story is to follow your impulses. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That was the fall of 1947, and we married in June of '48.
Esta (Mrs. Herman) Maril Social worker, innovator and arts enthusiast, Esta Maril has focused endless energy on enhancing the social welfare of children and promoting the arts. Born in 1921, Esta's childhood was heavily influenced by her mother's role as the family's main breadwinner. Esta majored in English at Johns Hopkins University and spent summers working at Hutzler's Department Store. Believing that her life had been too sheltered, Esta pursued social work, graduating with a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s. Esta directed a mental health clinic in Baltimore County and worked in private practice before her marriage in 1948 to Herman Maril, whom she met through their mutual interest in art. Following the birth of their children, David and Nadja, Esta worked at The Park School, creating a mother-tot program that emphasized the socialization of young children and parenting skills for mothers. Esta and her husband spent summers actively involved in the community of artists in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Since Herman's death in 1986, Esta has been organizing her husband's archives and art collection and is writing an account of the couple's lifelong involvement in the arts.
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