Albert E. Aaron
Albert E. Aaron
Albert E. Aaron, an artist and longtime Alaskan, died Jan. 10, 2017, in Sitka. He was 85.
He was born August 19, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Barnie and Sarah (Sadie) Aaron. After graduating from Cass Tech High in Detroit, he went on to graduate from Bard College, attended graduate school at Indiana University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, lived in an art colony in Israel and attended Yeshiva University as a Ford Foundation Teaching Fellow.
He taught at the prestigious Cranbrook Art Academy, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and while there helped organize the first contemporary art gallery in Detroit.
Later, working as a curator at the Albright Art Museum in Buffalo, he reorganized the education department. As Curator of Education at the Delgado Museum in New Orleans he developed a popular program attracting young people in the community while concurrently teaching classes at Tulane University.
A gifted artist, his work was shown in exhibits including in New York, Israel, Michigan and Louisiana.
Albert moved to Fairbanks in 1973 continuing to paint while he worked on the Alaska pipeline. In addition, he took an active part in encouraging responsible laws for the mentally ill.
Because of failing health, Albert spent his final years at the Pioneers Home in Sitka, moving here in 2008.
He is lovingly remembered by family and friends for his insightful, tolerant and helpful demeanor. He was predeceased by his wife, Jeanette, and brother Bob.
Albert is survived by his son Gawon, Anchorage, his sisters Gerry West and Judith Strohmaier, and numerous family members in the United States, Canada and Israel.
