Bernard Perlin

His style progressed from social realism in the New Deal era through pro-war art and illustration during World War II to magic realism paintings of urban American life, all in a representational style.

[1] He studied there from 1934 to 1936, the National Academy of Design with Leon Kroll in 1937, and then the Arts Student League with Isabel Bishop, William Palmer, and Harry Sternberg until 1940.

[5] He entered the graphics department of the Office of War Information in 1942, creating pro-war propaganda popular in the United States.

[4] As an artist-correspondent for Life, he brought back to the U.S. the first news and sketches obtained in Greece since the German occupation began in 1941.

After the war, his work began to focus on magic realism, aiming to capture special moments in everyday life.

The painting depicts two Jewish boys standing in front of a subway graffiti backdrop.

[12] In 1955 Perlin met fashion model Edward Newell, whom he formally married at age 91 in 2009.