George Cohen

George Cohen studied at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Drake University and University of Chicago. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with Northwestern University. Work by George Cohen is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian American Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art and Minneapolis Institute of Art. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship.

• Name — George Cohen • Birth Name — George Marshall Cohen • Born — 4 August 1919 • Birthplace — Chicago, Illinois, U.S. • Died — 18 April 1999 • Education — School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA) Drake University (attended) University of Chicago (MA, PhD) • Movement — Chicago Imagists • Spouse — Constance Teander

Cohen was born on August 4, 1919, in Chicago. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was awarded the Isaacs Scholarship in 1938–1939 and the Coolbaugh Scholarship in 1939–1940. He also served as the President of the Art Students League of New York in 1940. Cohen's academic career was interrupted between 1941 and 1946 while he served in the U.S. Army with the 63rd Reconnaissance Troop in the European Theatre of Operations. After completing his BFA at the Chicago Art Institute in 1946, Cohen briefly attended Drake University, where he studied Liberal Arts. At the University of Chicago, he completed residence work toward an MA and a PhD in the History of Art from 1946 to 1948.

In 1948, Cohen joined the Northwestern University faculty as an instructor of art. He was promoted to assistant professor of art in 1952 and to associate professor in 1958. He became a full professor in 1963, a position he held until his retirement in 1984, when he became professor emeritus. As guest professor or guest artist, Cohen also taught at the Contemporary Art Workshop in Chicago in 1951, the Institute of Related Art in Wilmette in 1951, the Evanston Art Center from 1951 to 1952, the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology from 1956 to 1957, and the Minneapolis Museum of Art, 1963. At Northwestern University, Cohen was a President’s Fellow and Distinguished Faculty Lecturer. His numerous awards included the Copley Award, the National Foundation of the Arts Award, a Ford Arts Council Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the State of Illinois 150th Anniversary Award. Cohen wrote many articles and reviews for various publications. He had many one-person shows and participated in numerous invitational exhibitions. His work can be found in permanent collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Carnegie Mellon Museum in Pittsburgh, the Minneapolis Museum of American Arts and the Hirschhorn Collection in Washington, D.C.

Cohen was married to the painter Constance Teander Cohen (February 11, 1921 – February 14, 1995). They often showed their work together in exhibits. He had a son, Paul E. Cohen and two daughters, Frances Tietov and Susan Evans. Cohen and his wife, lived in an Evanston 19-century house filled with paintings, books, and musical instruments (two of their three children, Susan and Frances, are professional classical musicians).

George Cohen is recorded as painter, artist, art educator and sculptor.