The Life and Art of Herman Rose
Herman Rose, the professional pseudonym of Herman Rappaport, was an American painter born in Brooklyn, New York. Originally trained as a draftsman, he studied at the National Academy of Design from 1927 to 1929. During his career, he was employed by the Works Progress Administration's Murals Division under Arshile Gorky from 1934 until 1939. After experimenting with various contemporary expressionistic styles, Rose decided to paint from life, focusing on rooftops and street scenes in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, including East New York and East Canarsie.
By the early 1950s, Rose became known for small, light-filled Impressionist paintings of still life, skies, and cityscapes, such as 74th Street Rooftops From Studio. His technique involved composing images on canvas using very small dabs of paint and tiny, blurry "squares" of color that do not entirely blend in the viewer's eye. His work was included in the Museum of Modern Art exhibition 15 Americans alongside artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. His paintings are held in collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian Institution.
