Tarlow (Lois) is born in Brockton.

The daughter of Eastern European immigrants Aaron and Sarah (Fateles) Tarlow, Lois Tarlow grows up in Brockton, graduates from Goucher College, and studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with Arthur Polonsky and Karl Zerbe. She marries Polonsky in 1953, moves to Newton, and becomes an artist, teacher, and critic. Tarlow dies in Boston on January 4, 2021. The Boston Globe subsequently declares, “Ms. Tarlow was a force in Boston’s art scene for decades, pushing back against the sexism she faced and carving out time to paint while raising three children.”