Aaron Berkman
Encyclopedia
Aaron Berkman was an American Social Realist
and Modern painter who was involved in the Federal Art Project
, which was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression
-era New Deal
. Although born in Hartford, Connecticut
in 1900, he later moved to New York City
in 1929.
. He attended the Hartford Art School
from 1919-1921, alongside his fellow student and lifelong friend, Milton Avery
. He studied on scholarship at the Museum Art School of Boston from 1921–1924, then traveled through Europe for two years (1924–25). He spent time in France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Belgium.
In 1929, during the Depression, he moved to New York City, continuing a friendship and painting relationship with Milton Avery. He married Victoria Artese in 1931. Appointed in 1932 by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration
) to a Directorship position at the WPA Art Center of the 92nd Street Y
in New York City, he earned a Directors' salary of $23.50 per week. In charge of a seventeen-member WPA artist faculty, he served as director, art teacher
, and lecturer on art history
. The school offered free tuition and had several hundred students. During this period, with Herman Baron as Director, Berkman established the A.C.A. Gallery in New York City at 52 West 8th St., the first artist cooperative gallery in New York City.
After retiring from the 92nd street Y in 1965, he established the Bercone Gallery with Janet Cohen
in New York City, where he continued to teach, paint, and exhibit. He received fellowships to Yaddo in 1956, and the Huntington Hartford Foundation (Pacific Palisades, California
) in 1958.
Berkman also wrote a regular column "Articus Comments" for Art Front with Herman Baron, as the editor. He wrote two books, Art and Space, which was published in 1948 by Social Sciences Publishers and The Functional Line, which was published in 1952 by Thomas Yoseloff Publishers. During 1955 - 60, he was a columnist for ART NEWS, writing a column entitled, "Amateur Standing". Berkman was also on the Advisory Committee with Steve Wheeler at "THE FOUR O'CLOCK FORUMS LECTURE SERIES", 1953-55.
Berkman painted during the summers from 1939-1945 on Monhegan Island
, Maine while he spent other summers painting in Rockport, and Gloucester, Massachusetts
, Vermont, the Connecticut shore, and the Adirondacks in New York State
. Most of his work, however, was done in New York City.
s at the Wadsworth Atheneum
, Hartford, Connecticut; Babcock Galleries, New York; and Grace Home Galleries, Boston, Mass. He had additional one man exhibitions at Associated American Artists, NYC, in 1945; Erick Newhouse Galleries, NYC, 1952; Babcock Galleries, NYC, 1954; Kaufman Art Gallery
, NYC, in 1945, 1952, 1962 and 1966. The group exhibitions included the Brooklyn Museum
, Brooklyn, New York
; The Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts; A.C.A. Gallery, New York; John Myers Gallery 21, New York; Norlyst Gallery, New York; Morgan Memorial, Hartford, Conn.; The Riverdale Museum, New York; The American Watercolor Society, New York; Roerich Museum, New York; The New School, New York; Bronx, New York Museum of the Arts; the W.P.A. Artists 50th Anniversary Exhibition; Audubon Artists, NYC; The New York WPA Artists Exhibition at Passaic County College, Passaic, New Jersey
; Hudson River Gallery, Ossining, New York
; The Borough Presidents Gallery, New York City; The Monhegan Museum, Monhegan, Maine; and The Nassau County
Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York
.
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
and Modern painter who was involved in the Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
, which was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. Although born in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
in 1900, he later moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1929.
Biography
Aaron Berkman was born in Hartford, Connecticut. From 1916-1918 he attended the Connecticut League of Art Students, founded by Charles Noel Flagg, Connecticut's official portrait painterPortrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
. He attended the Hartford Art School
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
from 1919-1921, alongside his fellow student and lifelong friend, Milton Avery
Milton Avery
Milton Avery was an American modern painter. Born in Altmar, New York, he moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City.-Biography:...
. He studied on scholarship at the Museum Art School of Boston from 1921–1924, then traveled through Europe for two years (1924–25). He spent time in France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Belgium.
In 1929, during the Depression, he moved to New York City, continuing a friendship and painting relationship with Milton Avery. He married Victoria Artese in 1931. Appointed in 1932 by the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
) to a Directorship position at the WPA Art Center of the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
in New York City, he earned a Directors' salary of $23.50 per week. In charge of a seventeen-member WPA artist faculty, he served as director, art teacher
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
, and lecturer on art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
. The school offered free tuition and had several hundred students. During this period, with Herman Baron as Director, Berkman established the A.C.A. Gallery in New York City at 52 West 8th St., the first artist cooperative gallery in New York City.
After retiring from the 92nd street Y in 1965, he established the Bercone Gallery with Janet Cohen
Janet Langhart
Janet Langhart Cohen is an American model, television journalist and author. She serves as President and CEO of Langhart Communications and is the spouse of former Defense Secretary William Cohen...
in New York City, where he continued to teach, paint, and exhibit. He received fellowships to Yaddo in 1956, and the Huntington Hartford Foundation (Pacific Palisades, California
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood and district within the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, located among Brentwood to the east, Malibu and Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. The...
) in 1958.
Berkman also wrote a regular column "Articus Comments" for Art Front with Herman Baron, as the editor. He wrote two books, Art and Space, which was published in 1948 by Social Sciences Publishers and The Functional Line, which was published in 1952 by Thomas Yoseloff Publishers. During 1955 - 60, he was a columnist for ART NEWS, writing a column entitled, "Amateur Standing". Berkman was also on the Advisory Committee with Steve Wheeler at "THE FOUR O'CLOCK FORUMS LECTURE SERIES", 1953-55.
Berkman painted during the summers from 1939-1945 on Monhegan Island
Monhegan, Maine
Monhegan is a plantation on an island of the same name in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, about off the coast. The population was 75 at the 2000 census. As a plantation, Monhegan's governmental status falls between township and town...
, Maine while he spent other summers painting in Rockport, and Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
, Vermont, the Connecticut shore, and the Adirondacks in New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Most of his work, however, was done in New York City.
Exhibitions
During the years of 1926-28, Berkman had one man showOne man show
The term one-man show often referred to comedian, who would stand on stage and entertain an audience. With the advent of feminism, words and phrases such as one-woman show and comedienne have entered the modern-day lexicon....
s at the Wadsworth Atheneum
Wadsworth Atheneum
The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest public art museum in the United States, with significant holdings of French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, modernist masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as extensive holdings in early American furniture and...
, Hartford, Connecticut; Babcock Galleries, New York; and Grace Home Galleries, Boston, Mass. He had additional one man exhibitions at Associated American Artists, NYC, in 1945; Erick Newhouse Galleries, NYC, 1952; Babcock Galleries, NYC, 1954; Kaufman Art Gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, NYC, in 1945, 1952, 1962 and 1966. The group exhibitions included the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
; The Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts; A.C.A. Gallery, New York; John Myers Gallery 21, New York; Norlyst Gallery, New York; Morgan Memorial, Hartford, Conn.; The Riverdale Museum, New York; The American Watercolor Society, New York; Roerich Museum, New York; The New School, New York; Bronx, New York Museum of the Arts; the W.P.A. Artists 50th Anniversary Exhibition; Audubon Artists, NYC; The New York WPA Artists Exhibition at Passaic County College, Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
; Hudson River Gallery, Ossining, New York
Ossining (village), New York
Ossining is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 25,060 at the 2010 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Ossining.-Geography:Ossining borders the eastern shores of the widest part of the Hudson River....
; The Borough Presidents Gallery, New York City; The Monhegan Museum, Monhegan, Maine; and The Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York
Roslyn Harbor, New York
Roslyn Harbor is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 1,051 at the 2010 census. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the village of Roslyn....
.
Publications
- American MercuryThe American MercuryThe American Mercury was an American magazine published from 1924 to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured writing by some of the most important writers in the United States through the 1920s and 1930s...
“Art as Propaganda” 1932 debate with Jacob Burke - American SpectatorThe American SpectatorThe American Spectator is a conservative U.S. monthly magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. From its founding in 1967 until the late 1980s, the small-circulation magazine featured the writings of authors...
“Sociology of the Comic Strip” 1934 - “Art and Space,” 1948, published by Social Sciences Publishers (LCCN 49007350)
- “The Functional Line in Painting,” 1952, published by Thomas Yoseloff Publishers (LCCN 57006909)
- Columnist: Art News “Amateur Standing” 1955-60 New York City
- WPA Art Then 1934-1943 And Now 1960-1977
- Process and Promise (Art & Education Community at the 92nd Street Y) 2006
- Infamous New York (Reginald MarshReginald MarshReginald Marsh may refer to:* Reginald Marsh , American painter most notable for his detailed depictions of life in New York City in the 1920s* Reginald Marsh , actor in many British sitcoms...
and artists) The Nassau County Museum of Art 2006
Sources
- 2005, AskART.com Inc.- Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor), “The Artists Bluebook” (34,000 North American Artists to March 2005)
- 2005, Ray Davenport, “Davenport’s Art Reference” (The Gold Edition)
- 1999, Peter Hastings Falk (Editor), “Who Was Who in American Art, 1564- 1975” (3 Volumes)
- 1986, Jaques Cattell Press, “Who’s Who in American Art- 1986” (1986)
- 1985, Peter Hastings Falk (Editor), “Who Was Who in American Art” (Artists Active Between 1898- 1947)
- 1984, Clark S. Marlor, “The Society of Independent Artists” (Exhibition Record 1917-1944)
- 1973, Jaques Cattell Press, “Who’s Who in American Art- 1973”
- 1947, Editors, “Who’s Who in American Art- 1947”
- 1935, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, “Index of Artists: International- Biographical” (Two Volumes: Includes 1940 Index)
- American Art Review, April 2006, “Infamous New York” by Constance Schwartz
- New York Arts Magazine, November- December 2004, “Depression Era Artists” by Jeanette Hendler
- 92nd St. Y archives (http://www.92y.org/content/pdf/archives_schoolofarts.pdf)
- Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Archives/ Dimitri Hadzi Oral HistoryOral historyOral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
Interview (http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/hadzi81.htm) - Smithsonian Institution Archives/ Louis Kaufman Oral History Interview (http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/Kaufma85.htm)
- Yaddo Visual Artists, June, 1926 – December, 2008 ([ftp://ftp.yaddo.org/Yaddo/visualartists.pdf ftp://ftp.yaddo.org/Yaddo/visualartists.pdf])
See also
- Works Progress AdministrationWorks Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
- Federal Art ProjectFederal Art ProjectThe Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...