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 arts, 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'' ...
painter, and teacher best known for his
seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...
paintings of the
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
coast, particularly around
Monhegan Island Monhegan () is an island in the Gulf of Maine. A plantation, a minor civil division in the state of Maine falling between unincorporated area and a town, it is located approximately off the mainland and is part of Lincoln County, Maine, United S ...
. Bogdanove was born in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, (
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
now
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), 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 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...
, 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
, and also at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
School of Architecture from 1908 to 1910, while simultaneously painting advertisement displays and drafting for the
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.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 7,513 at the 2020 census. Pleasantville is home to the secondary c ...
; subsequently he painted murals for the
Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...
, 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; ) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the List of islands of the United States by area, 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in th ...
, 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 of 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 of 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 d ...
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 (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, the
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, 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 (THHS; often also shortened to Townsend Harris or simply Townsend) is a public high school for the humanities in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the campus of Queens College, a public college p ...
of the College of the City of New York.Gerdts, p. 63 In 1942 Bogdanove moved to
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, where he died in 1946.Gerdts, p. 63 In 1957 he was the subject of an exhibition at the
Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, George Bellows, ...
in
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, 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.


Descendants

Bogdanove's grandson is comic book illustrator
Jon Bogdanove Jon Bogdanove is an American comics artist and writer. He is best known for his work on '' Power Pack'' and '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', as well as for creating the character Steel with writer Louise Simonson in 1993. Career Comics After a ...
.It's Doomsday For Superman! The Original Art That Announced the Death of The Man of Steel Makes Its Auction Debut at Heritage in April
at
Heritage Auctions Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, mus ...
; published March 22, 2024; retrieved April 6, 2024


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