Aaron Bohrod

Who was Aaron Bohrod?

Aaron Bohrod was an American artist best known for his trompe-l'oeil still-life paintings.

Bohrad was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1907, the son of an emigree Russian 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. 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. During World War II, Bohrod worked as an artist, first in the Pacific for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, then in Europe for Life magazine. In 1948, he accepted a position as artist in residence, succeeding John Steuart Curry, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and remained in that capacity until 1973.

In the 1950s, Bohrod developed the trompe-l'oeil style of highly decorative, detailed still life paintings which gives an illusion of real life. It was this style with which he became internationally identified.