Irene Aronson

{{Infobox artist

| name = Irene Aronson

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| birth_date = 1918

| birth_place = Dresden, Germany

| death_date = 1992 (aged 73–74){{cite web |title=Irene Aronson |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2920.html |website=National Gallery of Art |access-date=21 February 2022}}{{cite book |last1=Weyl |first1=Christina |title=The Women of Atelier 17: Modernist Printmaking in Midcentury New York |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=215 |isbn=9780300238501 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju2ODwAAQBAJ&dq=Irene+Aronson+1918+1992+art&pg=PA215 |access-date=21 February 2022}}

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| nationality = American

| known_for = Printmaker

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}}

Irene Hilde Aronson (sometimes Anderson or Aronsohn, 1918–1992) was a German-born American painter and printmaker.

Early life and education

Aronson was a native of Dresden,{{cite book|editor1=Heller, Jules|editor2=Nancy G. Heller|title=North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYxmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA537|year=1995|publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc.|isbn=0-8153-2584-3|page=537}} and came to England as a refugee in the 1930s.{{cite book|title=The Studio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O6ozAQAAIAAJ|year=1959|publisher=Offices of The Studio}} She studied at a number of institutions during her life, including the Eastbourne School of Art, the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, the University of Oxford, the Slade School of Fine Arts, and the University of London. In 1960 she received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University, following with a Master of Arts degree two years later. During her career she also had lessons at the Art Students League of New York and the Parsons School of Design. Her instructors included Stanley William Hayter, Vladimir Polunin, and Randolph Schwabe.

Career

During her career Aronson exhibited works in solo shows both in the United States and abroad; she won numerous awards and honors for her art. Active as well as a costume designer{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/irene-aronson-24636|title=Irene Aronson – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|website=www.ibdb.com|accessdate=28 May 2018}} and book illustrator,{{cite book|title=Official Directory, American Illustrators and Advertising Artists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhx3_QpEoW0C|year=1949|publisher=American Federation of Arts}} she was a member of the California Society of Etchers.{{cite book|author1=Maryly Snow|author2=Sylvia Solochek Walters|title=California Society of Printmakers: One Hundred Years, 1913-2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYtIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT966|date=23 January 2018|publisher=California Society of Printmaker|isbn=978-0-9895408-0-3|pages=966–}} In 1956 her colored, soft ground etching, L'Opera was exhibited in the Society of American Graphic Artists' (now known as the Society of American Graphic Artists) 40th Annual Exhibition at the Architectural League, New York City for $50. She lived in Rego Park{{cite web|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/irene-aronson-147|title=Irene Aronson|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}} and Forest Hills at various points.{{cite web|url=http://www.holzmanantiques.com/product/irene-aronson-oil-painting-2278.cfm|title=Dennis Holzman Antiques|website=www.holzmanantiques.com|accessdate=28 May 2018|archive-date=29 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529054252/http://www.holzmanantiques.com/product/irene-aronson-oil-painting-2278.cfm|url-status=dead}}

Public collections

Aronson's prints may be found in numerous museum collections, both in the United States and abroad. The Smithsonian American Art Museum owns two, The Circus and Spring,{{cite web|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/circus-631|title=The Circus|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/spring-632|title=Spring|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}} while the National Gallery of Art owns three, the etching Still-Life,{{cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.47248.html|title=Still Life|website=www.nga.gov|accessdate=28 May 2018}} the lithograph Zurich,{{cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.47249.html|title=Zurich|website=www.nga.gov|accessdate=28 May 2018}} and the 1958 woodcut Oriental Fantasy.{{cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.47247.html|title=Oriental Fantasy|website=www.nga.gov|accessdate=28 May 2018}} Ten works are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including seven variants of the lithograph The Circus Performance,{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754091|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754136|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754293|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754132|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754303|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/754128|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/430698|title=Irene Aronson - The Circus Performance - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}} and copies of the etching Moonlight,{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/428128|title=Irene Aronson - Moonlight - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}} the etching Danse Macabre,{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/428129|title=Irene Aronson - Danse Macabre - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|accessdate=28 May 2018}} and a book of Chinese Fables by Kathy Ch'iu which she illustrated.{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/345095|title=Kathy Ch'iu - Chinese Fables - The Met|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum|date=1967 |accessdate=28 May 2018}} The Museum of Modern Art owns a 1951 print entitled Moon Night in etching and aquatint.{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/64320?artist_id=10&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist|title=Irene Aronson. Moon Night. 1951 - MoMA|website=www.moma.org|accessdate=28 May 2018}} Four works are in the holdings of the Victoria & Albert Museum.{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O693338/cafe-de-paix-print-aronson-irene/|title=Café de Paix - Aronson, Irene - V&A Search the Collections|website=collections.vam.ac.uk|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O562504/lopera-print-aronson-irene/|title=L'Opéra - Aronson, Irene - V&A Search the Collections|website=collections.vam.ac.uk|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O562503/pineapple-print-aronson-irene/|title=Pineapple - Aronson, Irene - V&A Search the Collections|website=collections.vam.ac.uk|accessdate=28 May 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O702166/fantasie-orientale-woodcut-aronson-irene/|title=Fantasie Orientale - Aronson, Irene - V&A Search the Collections|website=collections.vam.ac.uk|accessdate=28 May 2018}}