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Although
Sid Solomon was born in Springfield, he spent his early years in
Worcester, Mass. In high school, his first prize-winning entry
in the Service Clubs Essay Competition led to a scholarship to
the Worcester Art Museum for three years, culminating in a
graduation certificate, and an Art career spanning more than
forty years.
After three years of Army service and a year teaching Art, he
became a portrait painter in South Florida. This experience was
followed by further study with nationally-known portraitist and
teacher, Edmund Archer, at the Corcoran School in Washington,
DC.
As a part of his course of training, he copied Rembrandts and
other old masters in the National Gallery. He also taught at the
Corcoran, and for the U.S. Veterans Administration, as well as
painting a number of important government, military and
industrial leaders and their families.
After three years in the Nation's capital, Mr. Solomon traveled
through the East and the South, painting portraits of over a
thousand persons at art festivals. During this period he
continued his studies and attained proficiency in many areas of
arts and crafts, which enabled him to become a Director in the
Army Arts and Crafts Program of the U.S. Department of Defense.
An extended leave from his government teaching position
permitted him to return to graduate school where, after nine
years of intense concentration, he was awarded a Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Art Theory and Criticism by the University
of Georgia. While completing the requirements for this degree,
Mr. Solomon worked as Director of Arts and Craftshops for the
7th Army Training Command in Grafenwoehr, Germany. He had the
advantage of travel and study in the major art centers of
Europe, and, as a result, his doctoral dissertation broke new
ground in defining the concept of aesthetic quality as used in
criticism.
Since 1980, Sid Solomon has maintained a studio in Worcester,
Mass., where he continues to improve his understanding of
drawing and painting the human figure at weekly sessions of the
Worcester Life Drawing Group, which he coordinates. He has, in
addition, become a prolific plein aire painter of the colorful
New England landscape in all its seasons, including the depth of
winter. He says, "A good portrait painter can paint anything."
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