Laura Slobe (sometimes credited as Laura Gray) (November 17, 1909 – January 11, 1958) was an American painter, sculptor and cartoonist. Slobe was born in Pittsburgh to a well-to-do Jewish family, and grew up in Chicago, enrolling in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at 16; by 19 she was exhibiting paintings and winning prizes. She began exhibiting sculpture as well by the late 1930s, and came eventually to be known more as a sculptor than as a painter. In 1939 and 1940 she worked for the Works Progress Administration, creating art and teaching in a number of states, including Oregon. She became acquainted at this point with George Perle, whom she married in 1940; in 1942 the couple joined the Socialist Workers Party, and she took the pseudonym "Laura Gray". She was soon tasked wit