Miron Sokole (1901-1985)
Gas Tanks
12 x 18 inches
gouache on black paper
c. 1940, framed by Bark

Miron Sokole was born in Odessa, Russia in 1901. He came to the United States during World War I. Although predominately self taught in art, he attended school in America to improve his craft. Sokole graduated from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1921. In 1925, he continued on to the National Academy of Design. In the mid-1930’s, Sokole was sent from New York City to rural Kansas by the Works Progress Administration. The WPA sent several well-known New York artists to outlying areas to set up schools and participate in small community art enterprises. Sokole was also an integral part of the Federal Arts Project during the Great Depression.

During the 1930’s & 1940’s Sokole’s paintings were shown in competition with the best artists of the American scene. He subsequently moved back to Woodstock where he shared a studio with his friend, Milton Avery.

Selected Exhibitions: Salons of America, 1927, 1928, 1934; National Academy of Design (medal); Art Institute of Chicago, 1931-44; ‪Whitney Museum of American Art‬, 1936-54; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual, 1936, 1940-42, 1954; ‪Brooklyn Museum‬, 1939, 1943; Dallas Museum of Fine Art; Detroit Institute of Art.