Aaron Sopher (1905–1972) was an American artist who is known for his depictions of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States.

Early life and education

Aaron Sopher, the tenth of the thirteen children of Samuel A. Sopher and Jennie Saperstein, was born in East Baltimore,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, on December 16, 1905. His father owned a small cigar factory and tobacco shop near the Baltimore harbor. Sopher attended Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts, now known as the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the oldest art colleges in the U ...

, where he trained with

Alon Bement Alon Bement (1876–1954) was an American artist, arts administrator, author, and teacher. He served as the Dean of Traphagen School of Fashion from 1946 until 1951. Early life and education Alon Bement was born on August 15, 1876, in Ashfield ...

, the director of the institution. When a new director replaced Bement, Aaron Sopher was not awarded his diploma in 1925 due to his frequent absences and lack of discipline.

Work

Following his stint at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts, Sopher worked as a freelance illustrator for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', where his drawings began to appear regularly. In 1927, he received his first large commission from the newspaper to illustrate a story about the Baltimore waterfront, which was the first illustration to bring him wide recognition. Sopher then moved to New York City in 1929 where he resided until 1931. His cartoons appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', and his sketches of week were often included in ''

The New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...

'', a leftist publication devoted to social commentary. During the Depression, Sopher portrayed the devastation faced by the American people. Several of his ink

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

s and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s from this period were done under the auspices of Writers Sapos, a program for public works projects administered in

Publication and exhibition

Sopher's work appeared in prominent magazines and newspapers such as ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', ''

Johns Hopkins Magazine Johns may refer to: Places * Johns, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Johns, Oklahoma, United States, a community * Johns Creek (Chattahoochee River), Georgia, United States * Johns Island (disambiguation), islands in Canada and the Unit ...

'' (pub.

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

), ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

'', and '' Vanity Fair''. Sopher's drawings and watercolors have been featured in exhibitions at

, Carnegie Institute,

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

San Francisco Museum of Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary a ...

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, and

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. During his career, he was supported by many Baltimore and Washington, D.C. institutions such as the Corcoran, the

Peale Museum The Peale, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is Baltimore's Community Museum. Its mission is to evolve the role of museums in society by providing local creators and storytellers with the space and support the need to realize a complete and accessi ...

, and the

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...

References

External links

Three Drawings by Aaron Sopher from the Evening Sun
" The Baltimore Museum of Art.
Editorial on Aaron Sopher's second place win in The Evening Sun sketch contest
from the Evening Sun, December 6, 1947. The Baltimore Museum of Art.
Calendar drawn by Aaron Sopher
May–August 1949. The Baltimore Museum of Art.
Letter written to Aaron Sopher from J. Blankfard Martenent
February 28, 1949." The Baltimore Museum of Art.
9th Annual Maryland Show no.9.
Enoch Pratt Free Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sopher, Aaron 1905 births 1972 deaths Artists from Baltimore American watercolorists American satirists Comedians from Maryland Maryland Institute College of Art alumni 20th-century American Jews