Aaron Bohrod | Glass Birds

This oil on gesso panel by Aaron Bohrod, titled Glass Birds, is a wonderfully inventive example of the artist's celebrated trompe-l'œil still-life painting. Against the weathered surface of a dark wooden tabletop, Bohrod assembles a whimsical collection of brightly colored glass birds surrounding an elaborate golden glass form decorated with roses and foliage. Brilliant blues, turquoise, yellow, green, coral, and red stand in vivid contrast to the subdued brown-gray surface beneath them.

Despite its intimate 6 x 8-inch dimensions, the painting possesses remarkable visual presence. Bohrod meticulously differentiates the smooth, reflective surfaces of the colorful glass objects from the rough grain, scratches, cracks, and imperfections of the wooden background. Each bird is given its own distinctive character and position within the arrangement, while the larger ornamental glass form anchors the composition. The result is playful yet technically sophisticated—a miniature world of carefully observed objects transformed through Bohrod's imagination and extraordinary attention to surface and texture.

A particularly characteristic feature of Bohrod's mature still lifes is his ability to blur the distinction between reality and illusion. The glass birds appear almost tangible, as though they could be lifted directly from the painted surface. At the same time, their unusual arrangement and brilliant colors give the composition a fanciful, almost surreal quality. The contrast between precious, jewel-like objects and an ordinary worn surface is typical of Bohrod's ability to find visual fascination in unexpected combinations.

Signed by the artist at middle left.
Oil on gesso panel.
Size: 6 x 8 inches.
Circa 1970–1975.

Provenance:
ACA Gallery, New York, 1975
Everett Oehlschlaeger Galleries, Chicago, Illinois

Aaron Bohrod (1907–1992) was a prominent American painter, illustrator, ceramicist, and educator whose career evolved from Social Realist scenes of American life into the extraordinarily detailed trompe-l'œil still lifes for which he became especially well known. Born in Chicago, Bohrod studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later in New York, where John Sloan was among his influential teachers. His first New York solo exhibition was held in 1934, and during the 1930s he received two Guggenheim Fellowships, which supported his paintings of American Midwestern towns and everyday life.

During World War II, Bohrod served as an artist-correspondent with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific and subsequently worked for Life magazine in Europe, recording wartime subjects through the eyes of a painter. In 1948, he succeeded noted Regionalist painter John Steuart Curry as artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a position Bohrod held until his retirement in 1973.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Bohrod increasingly devoted himself to meticulously rendered still lifes. These works became known for their extraordinary illusionism, unexpected juxtapositions of everyday objects, visual jokes, symbolism, and touches of surrealism. Bohrod himself discussed the nature and development of these trompe-l'œil paintings extensively in interviews now preserved by the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art.

Bohrod's paintings are represented in major American collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Whitney Museum of American Art. His still lifes also achieved considerable popular recognition through reproductions in Life, Fortune, and Holiday, as well as several covers for Time magazine.

With its jewel-like glass figures, richly textured wooden surface, brilliant color, and meticulous illusionism, Glass Birdsis a particularly charming example of Aaron Bohrod's mature trompe-l'œil still-life painting, combining technical precision with the wit and imaginative object arrangements that became hallmarks of his later career.