Joseph Bodner (January 16, 1925 – May 28, 1982) was an American painter. He was born in Florence Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war, he studied at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

in Pasadena, California where he specialized in illustration and

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

. He often chose the vanishing

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and white stallions as favorite subjects but his painting "''The Resurrection of Jonathan''," which was exhibited at the motion picture premiere of ''

Jonathan Livingston Seagull ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'', written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated with black-and-white photographs shot by Russell Munson, is a fable in novella form about a seagull who is trying to learn about life and flight, and a homi ...

'', is probably his best known work. As an illustrator, in 1978 he collaborated with Bruce Lee on the first volume of his '' Fighting Method'' martial arts books. Bodner died in 1982 and was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

External links

Joseph Bodner family website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodner, Joseph 20th-century American painters American male painters American illustrators People from Florence Township, New Jersey 1925 births 1982 deaths Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American male artists