In a 1984 interview for the Archives of American Art, painter and educator Aaron Bohrod (1907-1992) reminisced on his multi-year artistic partnership with ceramist F. Carlton Ball (1911-1992):
“Carlton Ball was a West Coast potter who came to the university to teach, to conduct the ceramic classes. And he invited the faculty to come in, make use of his pot shop, and to play around with clay, do anything they want, and since every kiln is a composite of the number of different things that come from different sources and so on, there was no handicap in his accepting the things that the faculty had done to amuse themselves. I attended those early sessions that he inaugurated, evenings, so they wouldn’t conflict with his teaching program too much … Ball seemed to be interested in my sense of design, and he offered to provide some basic pots for me to decorate … He turned over some certain things to me, in various stages, either a sopping wet stage, which would allow you to do a little graffito work right on the surface, or in the dried first-fired state, where you’re able to apply the decoration to overlays of pigment, which are then refired and so on. And all together there are dozens, well, eight dozen anyhow, different varieties of approach by which you could attack the process of decorating a pot. I became more and more interested in it and by the end of the year we had achieved enough in the way of mutual pottery to have an exhibition at the old library in Madison, which was very successful. And we sold things at modest prices and so on, and then he got an offer to go down to Carbondale, my old school, to set up the ceramics shop there and to teach … And several times a year, for about seven or eight or nine years, I went down to Carbondale, spending a week at a time or ten days or three days, whatever I could work out, and really creating a tremendous amount of pottery. I think between us we achieved something like five or six hundred mutual pots in their various series.”
Aaron Bohrod 1907–1992
Midwestern artist Aaron Bohrod achieved renown for his captivating trompe-l'œil still-life paintings. Born in 1907 in Chicago to Bessarabian-Jewish parents, Bohrod's father, an immigrant grocer, instilled in him a love for art. He honed his skills by attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York from 1926 to 1930, where the works of John Sloan inspired him to depict scenes from his immediate surroundings.
Upon returning to Chicago, Bohrod dedicated himself to portraying the city's vibrant working-class neighborhoods. His exceptional talent and unwavering commitment were recognized with prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships, which enabled him to embark on a journey across the nation, capturing the diverse American landscape on canvas. Celebrated as a social realist and regional painter and printmaker, Bohrod's works gained prominence thanks to the promotional efforts of the Associated American Artists in New York. Notably, Bohrod showcased his artistic prowess by completing three commissioned murals for the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts in Illinois.
During World War II, Bohrod contributed his artistic skills to the United States Army Corps of Engineers' War Art Unit, initially serving in the Pacific and later documenting European scenes for LIFE magazine. In 1948, Bohrod assumed the role of artist in residence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, succeeding John Steuart Curry, and remained in that position until 1973. Bohrod's artistic merit was further recognized when he was elected as an Associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1951, eventually becoming a full member in 1953.
In the 1950s, Bohrod developed his signature trompe-l'œil style, which featured highly realistic and meticulously detailed still-life paintings, skillfully creating an illusion of lifelike objects. This distinctive approach brought him international acclaim and recognition. By the time that Bohrod passed away in 1992, succumbing to liver cancer, his artistic niche had fallen out of fashion. Neverthless, examples of Bohrod's impressive works may be found today in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.
Auction Results Aaron Bohrod
Auction Results Aaron Bohrod and Carlton Ball
