Aaron Shikler, American artist, Died at 93

  Artists

Aaron Shikler was born on March 18, 1922, and died on November 12, 2015.

He was an American artist noted for portraits of American statesmen and celebrities like Jane Engelhard and Sister Parish.

Aaron was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 18, 1922.

He studied at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and at the Hans Hofmann School in New York.

Aaron married Barbara Lurie, who he met at Tyler, and had children, Cathy and Clifford with her.

Barbara was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 1998.

Jacqueline Kennedy personally selected Shikler in 1970 to provide the posthumous character study of John F. Kennedy, Oil Portrait of John F. Kennedy, which serves as Kennedy’s official White House portrait.

Aaron also painted the official White House portraits of First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, as well as portraits of the Kennedy children, and is represented in numerous public collections such as The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and the National Academy of Design.

Aaron continued to paint in his studio at home until he succumbed to kidney failure on November 12, 2015, surrounded by his friends and family.

He is survived by his two children, Cathy and Clifford, as well as his grandchildren, Isabella, Lane, Monty, and Benjamin.

Aaron passed away at age 93.