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Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

American, 1907-1992
Aaron Bohrod's work has not been limited to one style or medium. Initially recognized as a regionalist painter of American scenes, particularly of his native Chicago, Bohrod later devoted himself to detailed still-life paintings rendered in the trompe l'oeil style. He also worked for several years in ceramics and wrote a book on pottery. Born in 1907, Bohrod began his studies at Chicago's Crane Junior College in 1925, and two years later enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. But it was at the Art Students League in New York City, from 1930 to 1932, that he studied under the man believed to be his most significant early influence, John Sloan. Sloan's romantic realism is reflected in the many depictions of Chicago life, which comprised most of Bohrod's early work. Under Sloan's tutelage, Bohrod came to subscribe to the belief that painters should find the subjects of their art in the immediate world around them. These paintings emphasized architecture unique to north Chicago and featured Chicagoans engaged in such everyday activities as working, playing or going to the theatre. The romantic aspect was conveyed by the use of misty colors, and the realism by attention to detail. In 1936, Bohrod won the Guggenheim Fellowship award in creative painting. It enabled him to travel the United States, producing similar regionalist paintings on a much broader range of subjects. Nevertheless, most of his early work centered on Chicago and the urban Midwest. In 1943, Bohrod was commissioned by editors of Life magazine to cover the battlefronts as a war correspondent and artist. Three years later, Bohrod was invited to become the Artist in Residence at the University of Wisconsin, a position that became vacant with the unexpected death of John Steuart Curry. He would remain at the University from 1948 to his retirement in 1973. Then, quite atypically, fantasy started to appear in his work. Elements of Surrealism, supposedly inspired by his concurrent involvement in ceramics with F. Carlton Ball, began influencing his landscapes. By 1953, Bohrod had completely ceased painting landscapes, turning instead to often symbolic still-life subjects. He abandoned his earlier romantic realism to paint in the luminous trompe l'oeil tradition of William Harnett. Bohrod continued to produce these meticulously crafted fantasies exclusively. While in his position at the University of Wisconsin, Bohrod painted covers for Time magazine and authored two books, A Pottery Sketch-book (1959) and A Decade of Still Life (1966), in which are produced many of his trompe l'oeil paintings.
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Artist: Aaron Bohrod
Standing Female Nude
Standing Female Nude

Standing Female Nude

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Standing Female Nude Ink on paper Signed by the artist with his initials lower left "AB" Related to numerous drawings of the same model illustrated in: Elliott and Wooden, Aaron Bohr...

Category

1950s American Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Nude Reclining on a Mat
Nude Reclining on a Mat

Nude Reclining on a Mat

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Nude Reclining on a Mat Ink on paper, n.d. Signed in red ink lower right Same model used in Elliott & Wooden pages 198 and 199 Condition: Excellent Provenance: Estate of the Artist Warren Shaull, Dodge City, KS (collector's stamp verso) Aaron Bohrod (21 November 1907 – 3 April 1992) was an American artist best known for his trompe-l'œil still-life paintings. Education Bohrod was born in Chicago in 1907, the son of an emigree Bessarabian-Jewish grocer. Bohrod studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York between 1926 and 1930. While at the Art Students League, Bohrod was influenced by John Sloan and chose themes that involved his own surroundings. Career He returned to Chicago in 1930 where he painted views of the city and its working class. He eventually earned Guggenheim Fellowships which permitted him to travel throughout the country, painting and recording the American scene. His early work won him widespread praise as an important social realist and regional painter and printmaker and his work was marketed through Associated American Artists in New York. Bohrod completed three commissioned murals for the Treasury Departments Section of Fine Arts in Illinois; Vandalia in 1935, Galesburg in 1938 and Clinton in 1939. During World War II, Bohrod worked as an artist; first in the Pacific for the United States Army Corps of Engineers' Army War Art Unit...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Nude in a Mirror
Nude in a Mirror

Nude in a Mirror

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Nude in a Mirror Ink and wash on paper, n.d. Signed in red ink lower right (see photo) Illustrated: Elliott & Wooden, page 153, a monograph on the artist's drawings Note: a cop...

Category

1960s American Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Nude in a Mirror
Nude in a Mirror

Nude in a Mirror

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Nude in a Mirror Ink and wash on paper, n.d. Signed in red ink lower right (see photo) Illustrated: Elliott & Wooden, page 153, a monograph on the artist's drawings Note: a cop...

Category

1960s American Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Three Nudes in a Garden
Three Nudes in a Garden

Three Nudes in a Garden

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Three Nudes in a Garden Graphite, c. 1928-1933 Initialed in pencil lower left (see photo) Illustrated: Elliott & Wooden, Aaron Bohrod: Figure Sketches, Fige 9, page 32 (see photo) A...

Category

1920s American Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

Nude on a Stool
Nude on a Stool

Nude on a Stool

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Nude on a Stool Ink on paper, c. 1970-80 Signed in red ink lower right Illustrated: Elliott & Wooden, page 232 A copy of this hardbound books accompanies purchase Condition: Excell...

Category

1970s American Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

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Sheet of Sketches

Aaron BohrodSheet of Sketches

Sold

H 11 in W 8.5 in

Sheet of Sketches

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Ink, graphite, and charcoal on paper Initialed in red ink lower center Provenance: Warren Shaull, Dodge City, KA (collector's stamp verso) References: ...

Category

20th Century Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

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Skeletons

Aaron BohrodSkeletons, c. 1950

Sold

H 11 in W 8.375 in

Skeletons

By Aaron Bohrod

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Initialed in red ink: "AB" Provenance: Warren Shaull, DOdge City, KA Bibliography: Edwin E. Elliott and Howard E. Wooden, Aaron Bohrod: Figure Sketches...

Category

1950s Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Paper

Aaron Bohrod drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Aaron Bohrod drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of drawings and watercolor paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange, yellow and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Aaron Bohrod in ink, graphite, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Aaron Bohrod drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Raphael Soyer, Jack Hooper, and Jackson Lee Nesbitt. Aaron Bohrod drawings and watercolor paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $200 and tops out at $1,800, while the average work can sell for $925.