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Draft:Arnold Abramson

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  • Comment: I think he may we Wiki-notable based on the Tony award, however the draft is not ready to be published yet. Every claim in the article needs to be backed up by a reference (a.k.a. a source or citation). It need more independent, secondary references in reliable sources. I will add a ref list to the article to improve the formatting. Please continue to work on the draft, as it is promising. Netherzone (talk) 03:32, 30 July 2024 (UTC)


Arnold Abramson (March 1, 1928 – November 25, 2020) was an American scenic artist, painter, and educator. He was the winner of the Tony Honors for Excellence award in 2015.[1][2]

A draftsman, painter, and sculptor, he was a figurative artist in the realist tradition. His work included scenic paintings as well as portraits and sculptures of his family and friends throughout the decades.[3]

Early Life and Education

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Abramson was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Louis Tobolsky Abramson and Rose Ostrin Abramson.[4] He began painting as a young child. As a teen while attending the High School of Music and Art in New York City he studied at The Art Students League and under Raphael Soyer and Moses Soyer. After graduating in 1946 he enrolled in Tyler School of Art at Temple University where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1950.

Career

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He returned to New York City and launched his Scenic Arts career in 1950 painting for Triangle Studios and Dunkel Studios[5] and joining the United Scenic Artists Union Local 829 in 1951. When William Nolan opened Nolan Scenery Studios in the newly purposed Brooklyn Ice Palace in 1956, Abramson joined him as Charge Scenic Artist and was made a partner in the business.[6] Later Abramson would become owner of Nolan Studios.[7]

After a prolific career of painting over 600 shows for Broadway and numerous more for New York City Ballet and other productions[8][9], Abramson was awarded a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater in 2015. He also was awarded the Second Annual Purchase College’s Broadway Technical Backstage Legends and Masters Award in 2012. Among the numerous shows Abramson painted were the original production of The King and I, My Fair Lady, 42nd Street, Annie, Hello Dolly!, Sunday in the Park with George, Camelot, Sweeney Todd, The Sound of Music, Evita, Cats[10], Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Bells Are Ringing. He worked with designers including John Lee Beatty, David Hays[11], David Mitchell[12], and many more. Paralleling his busy career Abramson found time to teach Scene Painting for seven years at Yale University and for 22 years at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[13]

Abramson moved to Boynton Beach, Florida in 1991 and opened Studio South, a Union shop where he painted several backdrops that were sent back to New York for Broadway and New York City Ballet productions. Here he also painted sets and backdrops and designed four productions for Miami City Ballet.[14] He closed Studio South in 2005 and moved to Coconut Studios to paint until his retirement in 2012 at age 84.

Personal life

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Paralleling his professional career in Scenic Art Abramson continued participating in life drawing and life painting groups and working in his home studio throughout his life.

Abramson with his oversized scene painting brush would become the subject of one of Dinnerstein’s pastel paintings[15] which is held in the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Connecticut. Abramson’s woodcut Street Scene was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum Sixth National Print Annual Exhibition and remains in their collection.[16] His monotype Seated Figure became part of their collection as a gift from the Louis E. Stern Foundation.[17]

Abramson struggled with advancing macular degeneration during his last few years of life. He died at the age of 92.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Three Broadway Veterans to Receive 2015 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre". Tony Awards. April 15, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "Scenic Artist Arnold Abramson to Receive Second Annual "Backstage Legends and Masters" Award". Lighting & Sound America. February 20, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Schwan, Gary (January 4, 1996). "Scene-Setter: Beach is now the stage for Broadway Artist". Retrieved October 9, 2024 – via Palm Beach Post Archives.
  4. ^ "United States Census, 1930". Family Search. 1930. Retrieved September 24, 2024. Entry for Louis Abramson and Rose Abramson
  5. ^ The Broadway League. "Arnold Abramson – Broadway Cast & Staff". IBDB. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  6. ^ Collum, Jeffrey (1975). The role of contemporary scene building houses for Broadway theatre (Thesis). Electronic Theses & Dissertations: Michigan State University. p. 39,59,61,63,101,170. doi:10.25335/9gny-tr69.
  7. ^ Beatty, John Lee (1930). "Painted Scenery — Nolan's Studio & Arnold Abramson". Performing Arts Legacy Project. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Wiener, Caryn E. (August 25, 1988). "Paint Shop on the Move 32 Years of Scenery Designs". Newsday. pg. 189. Retrieved September 24, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  9. ^ Pecktal, Lynn (January 1, 1975). Designing and Painting for the Theatre. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 5,120. ISBN 0030119014.
  10. ^ John Lewis (February 20, 2013). "Where Broadway Stages are Set". Daily News. New York, New York pg. 245. Retrieved September 24, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ Hays, David (2017). Setting the Stage What We Do and How We Do It, and Why. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. p. p.n12, 33.
  12. ^ Smith, R. (1985). American Set Design. New York: Theatre Communications Group. p. 148. ISBN 0930452399.
  13. ^ Smith, R. (1985). American Set Design. New York: Theatre Communications Group. p. 28. ISBN 0930452399.
  14. ^ Fulks, Susan (April 1, 2012). "Miami City Ballet's 'Neighborhood Ballroom' poignant but lengthy". Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Dinnerstein, Harvey (1985). "Arnold Abramson". New Britain Museum of American Art. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  16. ^ Abramson, Arnold (1950). "Street Scene". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  17. ^ Abramson, Arnold (1950). "Seated Figure". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  18. ^ "In Memoriam Arnold Abramson". My Digital Publication. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
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