Boris Aronson Solomonovich (Baruch, Baer, Boris Aronson)

October 15, 1900 (Kiev) - November 16, 1980 (New York)

artist, designer, graphic artist, researcher fine art.

was born in the family of the chief rabbi of Kiev, and later - in Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

In 1912-1916 Aronson was trained at the Kiev Art School from I. Selezneva in Kiev drawing school at N. Murashko. In 1917-1918 he studied at the studio, Alexandra Exter, fascinated by his theater and set design. Creative manner Exter had a great influence on him. The artist introduced Aronson with Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov Ya played a significant role in shaping his views of theater.

After 1917, Aronson led an active social life in Kiev. Participated in the creation of the Museum of Modern Art, in 1917-1918 (according to other sources, in 1920-1921) was Secretary of the Exhibition Commission for Culture League. In 1920 the Culture League was organized in Kiev, the first Jewish art exhibition, which Aronson exhibited his works.

In connection with the work of the Central Committee of the Culture League in Moscow in late 1920 the artist moved to the capital and the entire 1921 he studied painting at the I. Mashkov. Exter helped decorate and prepare the play "Romeo and Juliet" at the Chamber Theater Tairov. Perhaps, in the same period was performed for the Moscow Jewish Chamber Theater sketches of scenery and costumes.

In Kiev, the artist contributed much to promote the so-called "Jewish style", which connects the principles of abstract painting with elements of folk art, founded the Kiev Museum of Jewish Art.

In 1922 Aronson emigrated to Poland, then in Berlin. There, he studied engraving under the direction of G. Struck. Published the book "Marc Chagall" in Russian and Yiddish, as well as a monograph on the works of Marc Chagall, N. Altman, E. Lisitsky, J. gulls and other "Modern Jewish Art", where By the way, and talked about his mission to popularize Jewish Art (Berlin, 1923).

participated in the first Russian art exhibition in the Van Diemen Gallery in Berlin. In 1923 he moved to Paris in the same year he moved to New York.

Cooperating first as a set designer with several Jewish theaters in New York, Aronson had in 1924 created his first independent work - sketches of scenery and costumes for the play by play by S. Ansky "Dibbuk" in "Unzer Theater in the Bronx than paid tribute to the spirit of the school kubofuturisticheskomu Exter. Later Aronson distanced himself from kubofuturizma and generally avoided to follow any particular language, trying to proceed from the specific features of the play, with which he worked. However, the passion for modern style and a clear reality preserved forever.

In 1926, Aronson came to the "Kunst-Yiddish Theater" M. Schwartz and some time later became its chief designer. In 1927 he performed sketches of costumes for the Hasidim "Tenth Commandment" by A. Goldfaden. In later years he switched to design plays in the theaters on Broadway, where he worked for over 40 years (he has designed over 100 productions), but continued to cooperate with M. Schwartz.

On Broadway, he debuted in 1932, his musical Walk a Little Faster, delivered in conjunction with the composer B. Duke, also a Russian emigre. In musicals, such as in the famous musical "Fiddler on the Roof" (1964), award-winning Foundation J. Mahara, Aronson continued to work with a Jewish theme.

In 1955 the artist designed the play "Diary of Anne Frank" in theater "Court". The scenery of this performance highlight the close. In the play as "Cabaret" in 1966, staged at the Theater "Brodharst" and earned the award by the John Mahara and A. Perry, space expanded by mirrors at the top in the background. Thus Aronson demonstrated a variety of space solutions and a wide range of tools.

Aronson - one from the very famous Broadway stage designers. For his achievements in the field of stage design, he won awards Guggenheim Foundation, Ford Foundation, J. Maharama and six times won the prestigious theater Tony Award (the first time in 1951 for the premier staging of "Tattooed Rose T. Williams, the last time - in 1976 for the musical Pacific Overtures).

addition to clearance of musicals and drama productions, Aronson worked on operas and ballets (opera by Rimsky-Korsakov's "Snow Maiden", 1942, "Metropolitan Opera"), ballet P . I. Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" (1977), a number of other ballets.

Aronson designed the interiors of the two synagogues (Washington and Long Island, two - 1959), worked in the field of park sculptures. Since the 1950's mastered the technique of encaustic.

artist constantly participated in exhibitions. In 1956 in New York held a personal exhibition of abstract painting Aronson.

Sculptures Aronson like his abstract paintings; a certain surrealistic compositions, which are like part of the archaeological excavations. They are exhibited at the exposition "Night Images" Gallery Seidenberg, New York.

Works Aronson stored in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of the City of New York, Lincoln Center.