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.to
6
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
7
1
1
2
1
2
6
1
3
3
2
2
2
1
5
1
1
1
1
30
844
408
282
279
7
Artist: Aaron Bohrod
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
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
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 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
Watercolor Painting Road Signs, Load Limit, Aaron Bohrod WPA Artist Chicago Art
By Aaron Bohrod
Located in Surfside, FL
Aaron Bohrod (1907-1992)
Listed Wisconsin WPA American Artist
Original Watercolor Painting
Hand signed "Load Limit Bridge"
Dimensions: 24"x18" inches
Aaron Bohrod (1907 – 1992) was an American artist best known for his trompe-l'œil still-life paintings. This one presages Pop Art with its depiction of road signs.
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.
He returned to Chicago in 1930 where he painted views of the city and its working class. During the Great Depression, Schwartz became an artist on the Federal Art Project (WPA) payroll painting murals. He was one of the seven WPA artists who contributed to a mural at Riccardo's, Schwartz (Music), Malvin Albright (Sculpture), Ivan Albright (Drama), Aaron Bohrod (Architecture), Rudolph Weisenborn (Literature), Vincent D’Agostino (Painting), and Ric Riccardo (Dance).
Many well known Jewish and Immigrant artists worked for the Federal Art's Project (the New Deal) commonly referred to as the WPA, including Berenice Abbott, William Baziotes, William Gropper, Ilya Bolotowsky, Stuart Davis, Adolf Dehn, Ben Shahn and Louis Schanker. In 2002 Chicago philanthropist Seymour H. Persky acquired the murals for his personal collection. He eventually earned a 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' War Art Unit...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
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
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
Related Items
Estes Park Colorado American Modernist Watercolor Landscape Painting, WPA 1930s
By James Russell Sherman
Located in Denver, CO
Vintage 1930s watercolor and ink painting of Estes Park, Colorado, by American artist James Russell Sherman (1906-1989). This captivating work features a detailed view of storefronts...
Category
1930s American Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
H 16.5 in W 22.25 in D 1.5 in
MB 807 (Figurative Charcoal Drawing on Arches Paper of Two Male Nude Models)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative drawing of two male nudes made with graphite, conte crayon and charcoal on Arches paper
30 x 18.5 inches, unframed
This unique life study drawing of two standing male n...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
MB 076 A&B (Double Sided Figurative Charcoal Drawing of Male Nudes)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative drawing of male nudes made with graphite, charcoal, and conte crayon on Arches paper
30 x 22 inches, unframed
One piece of 30 x 22 inch Arches. Two drawings, one on either...
Category
Early 2000s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Archival Paper, Graphite
DELMOTTE Marcel. Seated nude. Washed ink drawing.
Located in Paris, FR
Seated nude.
Washed ink and pencil. Signed and dated 1931.
Category
1930s Expressionist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink, Mixed Media
1951 Graphite on Paper Figure Study-Standing Male- Torso by Artist Harold Haydon
By Harold Haydon
Located in Chicago, IL
A 1951 black and white figure study of a nude male, by artist Harold Haydon. Artwork size: 19" x 12 1/2". Archivally matted to: 24" x 30". Provenance: Estate of the Artist. Es...
Category
1950s American Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Graphite, Paper
Zittend Naakt (Seated Nude) /// Figurative Girl Lady Pencil Drawing Woman Art
By Hendrik Paulides
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Hendrik Paulides (Dutch, 1892-1967)
Title: "Zittend Naakt (Seated Nude)"
*Monogram signed and dated by Paulides in pencil lower left
Year: 1958
Medium: Original Graphite Pencil Drawing on cream wove paper
Framing: Recently exquisitely framed in a heavy gold Art Deco moulding...
Category
1950s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Pencil, Graphite
Mark Beard 054 (Figurative Charcoal Drawing of Two Male Nudes on Arches Paper)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative drawing of two male nudes made with graphite, charcoal, and conte crayon on Arches paper
30 x 14 inches, unframed
This unique life study drawing of two standing nude m...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Graphite, Paper
MB 808 (Figurative Charcoal Drawing on Paper of Two Male Nudes Models)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative drawing made with graphite, conte crayon and charcoal on Arches paper
30 x 13 inches, unframed
This unique life study drawing of two standing male nudes was made by Mar...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
MB 053 (Figurative Charcoal Drawing of a Muscular Male Nude on Arches Paper)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative male nude drawing made of graphite, charcoal, and conte crayon on Arches paper
30 x 20 inches, unframed
This unique life study drawing of a standing male nude was made...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Crayon, Graphite
MB 806 (Figurative Charcoal Drawing on Paper of Two Muscular Male Nudes)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative nude drawing made with graphite, conte crayon and charcoal on Arches paper
30 x 19 inches unframed
This unique life study drawing of two male nude models was made by Mark...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
MB 804 A&B (Double Sided Figurative Drawing, Two Male Nudes and Safari Hunter)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Figurative drawing with graphite, charcoal, and conte crayon on Arches paper
30 x 19 inches, unframed
One piece of 30 x 19 inch Arches paper. Two drawings on opposite sides.
These u...
Category
2010s Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Archival Paper, Charcoal, Graphite, Watercolor
"Times Square" Mid 20th Century 1937 Modernism Broadway Drawing NYC Cityscape
Located in New York, NY
"Times Square" Mid 20th Century 1937 Modernism Broadway Drawing NYC Cityscape
Philip Goodwin (20th Century) "Times Square," 23 ½ x 17 ¼ inches. Gouache...
Category
1930s American Modern Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
Previously Available Items
Standing Nude Seen from the Back
By Aaron Bohrod
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Standing Nude Seen from the Back
Ink on paper, n.d.
Signed in red ink lower right
Sheet size: 11 x 8 3/8 inches
Condition: slight aging at edges of the sheet
Provenance: Warren Shaull
Illustrated: Elliot & Wooden, Aaron Bohrod: Figure Sketches (Dodge City...
Category
1950s Realist Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink
Farm Buildings
By Aaron Bohrod
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Farm Buildings" is an original ink drawing by Aaron Bohrod. It depicts five buildings in simple lines. There are also towers that would typically hold up electrical wires and clouds...
Category
20th Century Aaron Bohrod Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Materials
Ink
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
Charcoal, Ink, Graphite
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.