Hoff, Lloyd

Lloyd Henry Hoff was born on June 11, 1910 in Balko, Oklahoma. His parents, Benjamin Tobias Hoff and Margaret Holm Hoff, were farmers. Hoff had one younger brother named Louis and one older brother named Herman. The Hoff family moved to Walla Walla, Washington in 1917 and lived there for five or six years. They then moved to San Juan Batista, California, which is where Lloyd attended high school while also working on the family farm. Though he recognized its importance to his childhood, Lloyd never wanted a farm life for himself. Instead, he had a great interest in art, literature, and poetry. His brother once reported that Lloyd recited poetry to the cows while milking them. Lloyd's family was supportive of his artistic development during his adolescence, and his paternal aunt helped him through college. Hoff attended a junior college in California (possibly in Hollister) from 1929-1931 before attending the University of California at Berkeley for two years. He earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees in history and in art. While at Berkeley, he took a class from Mr. Obata, a Japanese man who taught him Sumi painting and Oriental brushwork. After attending the class, Hoff lived with Obata and his family for a year.

During his time in California, he illustrated books for friends, and created some illustrations for Communist newspapers at the request of his first wife. He sometimes signed his illustrations as “hans,” which was a family name but may specifically be a reference to a paternal uncle of whom he was fond. He also created the graphic design for a “Thank You” that would appear on a restaurant check. He worked at Walt Disney Studios but left after just two weeks, finding the copy work there uncreative and unfulfilling. He then applied for work in the civil service and did very well in the exams. He was placed in the Bonneville Power Administration as a graphic designer in 1939, which prompted him to move to Oregon. He eventually became chief of the graphics department there. He also worked for other departments of the Interior, such as the Indian Bureau.

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