Abraham Bogdanove
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Abraham Jacob Bogdanove (September 2, 1888 – August 1946) was an American artist,
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
painter, and teacher best known for his seascape paintings of the
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
coast, particularly around
Monhegan Island Monhegan () is an island in the Gulf of Maine located in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. A plantation, a minor civil division in the state of Maine falling between unincorporated area and a town, it is located about off the mainland. Th ...
. Bogdanove was born in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, (
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
now
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
), on September 2, 1888, and moved with his family to New York City on December 25, 1900.Gerdts, p. 63 For the next ten years he studied, first from 1901 to 1903 at Cooper Union, then from 1903 to 1911 at the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...
, and also at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
School of Architecture from 1908 to 1910, while simultaneously painting advertisement displays and drafting for the New York Journal.Gerdts, p. 63 From 1909 to 1911 he received prizes for his paintings in National Academy exhibitions. In 1911, Young Bogdanove was commissioned to paint a mural of "Diana in the Bath" for the Fleischman Baths at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue. He later took Fleischman to court because Fleischman reneged on the $90 fee and offered bath tickets in lieu of payment, stating that Bogdanove's Diana was not beautiful enough, and that the artist spent more time looking at scantily clad women than he did painting. Bogdanove was awarded $75. In 1912 Bogdanove received his second mural commission from the Hebrew Sheltering and Guardian Society in
Pleasantville, New York Pleasantville is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located 30 miles north of Manhattan. The village population was 7,019 at the 2010 census. Pleasantville is home to the secondary campu ...
; subsequently he painted murals for the Architectural League of New York, Commercial High School, Brooklyn, Alexander Hamilton High School, Brooklyn, Manual Training High School, Brooklyn, Public School 43, Bronx, and the College of the City of New York.Gerdts, p. 63 Bogdanove first visited Maine in 1915, summering at
Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...
, and in 1918 he visited Monhegan Island, purchasing a house there in 1920;Gerdts, p. 63 thereon he visited Monhegan every year until his death in 1946, becoming an established presence on the island and producing a series of landscapes and seascapes that would constitute the largest part of his painting. For his interest in the powerful dramatic effects of weather on the ocean and land, rather than geographically specific depictions, Bogdanove has been characterized as an heir to
Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...
. Of his work on Monhegan, described as "rugged, colorful, and forceful",Chambers, p. 13 Bogdanove said in an interview in 1936,
There are a number of reasons why I prefer Monhegan to all other places on the Atlantic coast.... The cliffs are so bold and precipitous and the studies offered by the island shore so inexhaustible. The climate suits me. Perhaps
t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...
because it is more like that of Russia, where my ancestors lived.Chambers, p. 13
In an interview in 1945, he explained,
I have painted the Gaspe, the cliffs of
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, the
Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...
, but there's a magnetic force in these rocks here, I believe, which brings us back again and again.Little, p.95
From 1913 to 1942 Bogdanove taught art at high schools and colleges in New York City, the longest association being with
Townsend Harris High School Townsend Harris High School at Queens College (THHS) is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks a ...
of the College of the City of New York.Gerdts, p. 63 In 1942 Bogdanove moved to
Dunbarton, New Hampshire Dunbarton is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census, up from 2,758 at the 2010 census. History Originally granted as "Gorham's-town" in 1735, and re-granted as "Starkstown" in 17 ...
, where he died in 1946.Gerdts, p. 63 In 1957 he was the subject of an exhibition at the Farnsworth Art Museum in
Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County, Maine, Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination ...
, in 1961 at the College of the City of New York,Gerdts, p. 63 and in three exhibits at New York's Spanierman Gallery between 1997 and 2000.


Notes


References

* Gerdts, William H.; Peters, Lisa N. ''Abraham J. Bogdanove: Monhegan Summers.'' Spanierman Gallery, LLC., 2001.
Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England at the Portland Museum of Art
* Little, Carl. ''The Art of Monhegan Island.'' Down East Books, 2004. * Chambers, Bruce W. ''Maine: A Legacy in Painting, 1830 to the Present.'' Spanierman Gallery, LLC., 2005. * New York Times February 10, 1911


External links




Images of Bogdanove on Monhegan Island

Bogdanove Biography from Wiscasset Bay Gallery


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogdanove, Abraham 1888 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters American marine artists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States National Academy of Design alumni Painters from Maine Painters from New York (state) Artists from Minsk People from Mount Desert Island 20th-century American male artists