Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Aaron Siskind

(1903-1991)

August 6, 2011

1. Aaron Siskind (1903-1991) Marker

Inscription. Preeminent 20th century photographer. Siskind’s influential images of Bucks County architecture from 1939 to 1945 brought about a change from documentary style to a radical abstract style, setting a new standard in American art photography.

Erected 2004 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1939.

Location. 40° 19.62′ N, 75° 7.653′ W. Marker is in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. Marker is on East Swamp Road (Route 313) just east of N. Main Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Doylestown PA 18902, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Charles Sheeler (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Henry Chapman Mercer (approx. 0.4 miles away); James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx (approx. 0.9 miles away); Casimir A. Sienkiewicz (approx. 0.9 miles away); Bucks County War Memorial (approx. one mile away); James A. Michener (approx. one mile away); Doylestown High School

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(approx. one mile away); William H. Eastburn III, Esquire (1932-2008) (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Doylestown.

Also see . . .
1. Aaron Siskind - Wikipedia. Includes photo of the artist. (Submitted on August 29, 2011, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.)

2. MarkerQuest - Aaron Siskind. (Submitted on February 22, 2024, by Laura Klotz of Northampton, Pennsylvania.)

Additional commentary.
1. Aaron Siskind - Brief Biography:
Aaron Siskind was born on December 4, 1903 in New York. He was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and the fifth of six children. After receiving his Bachelor of Social Science degree from College of the City of New York in 1926, he went on to teach high school English for 21 years in the New York public school system.

His first loves were music and poetry, but he took an interest in photography in 1930 (when he received his first camera as a going- away present before his honeymoon trip to Bermuda), and began his photography career as a documentarian in the New York Photo League in 1932. From 1936 to 1940 he oversaw the League’s Feature Group as they created documentary photo-essays of political

Aaron Siskind image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Unknown

2. Aaron Siskind

import including Harlem Document, Dead End: The Bowery, Portrait of a Tenement, and St. Joseph’s House.In the early 1940s, his work shifted to the abstract and metaphoric as Siskind cultivated friendships with such Abstract Expressionists as Franz Kline, Barrett Newman, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko, and began to exhibit work at the Charles Egan Gallery.

— Submitted January 2, 2012, by Keith S Smith of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Photography Book by Aaron Siskind, c. 1930's image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Aaron Siskind

3. Photography Book by Aaron Siskind, c. 1930's

Credits. This page was last revised on February 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2011. This page has been viewed 939 times since then and 37 times this year. Last updated on November 24, 2011. Photos: 1. submitted on August 25, 2011. 2, 3. submitted on January 2, 2012, by Keith S Smith of West Chester, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.