Born in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), Alex F. Yaworski emigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was not quite 2 years old. He spent his boyhood days in Superior, Wisconsin, an area to which he returned for many years. As a result, the waterfront shipyards, freight yards, and grain elevators of the Upper Lake Superior Region inspired many of his subsequent paintings. In 1927, he left Superior for Chicago to attend the American Academy of Art and graduated in 1931.
From then on, Yaworski combined a commercial illustrative career with a fine art career. He produced commercial work for the Chicago Tribune, Sears Roebuck, Poster Products, The DuPont Company, Seagram Company, Oscar Mayer, The Bernard Picture Company and many other organizations. In his time for the Oscar Mayer Company, he illustrated the character named Little Oscar. He also rendered hundreds of illustrations of Benjamin Franklin for the Ben Franklin retail stores. Yaworski created numerous paintings that were commissioned by the Chicago Tribune as covers for their “Sunday Tribune Magazine" and for greeting cards sent out by the Tribune. All during this time, Alex enjoyed a fine art career, creating paintings in Watercolor, Gouache, Casein, and Acrylic. These works were exhibited widely and a highlight of this career was having a painting included in the exhibition, “200 Years of Water Color Painting in America,” 1966 -1967 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, NY. Alex became a signature member of American Watercolor Society in 1953 (VP, 1972-1974) and had paintings accepted in their annual juried exhibitions during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was also a member of the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, a Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters (Zurich, Switzerland), a two-time president of the Artists Guild of Chicago, member of Watercolor USA Honor Society, and a signature member of Midwest Watercolor Society (now Transparent Watercolor Society of America). Alex was listed in “Who’s Who in American Art.” In 2023, Alex's personal papers were inducted into the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Take a look at Alex's resume' on page 2 of this site to see a summary of his fine art career. Alex’s exhibitions and awards are shown in order on page 3 in the form of a spreadsheet. On page 4, you will find many reproductions of his commercial career as well as letters, clippings and other documents related to his fine art career. On page 5, there are photos of some of the certificates, trophies, and plaques from his fine art career. And finally, on page 6, there is a gallery that shows a sampling of Alex's paintings from different times of his life.
Alex F. Yaworski lived in Chicago for over 60 years before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1991. He died on March 25, 1997.
Paintings are copyright Alex F. Yaworski Estate and may not be used without permission.
Photo of Alex F. Yaworski by Don Yaworski, 1973 http://don-yaworski-photographer-and-watercolorist.weebly.com
Don Yaworski Blog about Alex F. Yaworski: https://don-yaworski.blogspot.com/2012/01/alex-f-yaworski-artist.html?view=sidebar
From then on, Yaworski combined a commercial illustrative career with a fine art career. He produced commercial work for the Chicago Tribune, Sears Roebuck, Poster Products, The DuPont Company, Seagram Company, Oscar Mayer, The Bernard Picture Company and many other organizations. In his time for the Oscar Mayer Company, he illustrated the character named Little Oscar. He also rendered hundreds of illustrations of Benjamin Franklin for the Ben Franklin retail stores. Yaworski created numerous paintings that were commissioned by the Chicago Tribune as covers for their “Sunday Tribune Magazine" and for greeting cards sent out by the Tribune. All during this time, Alex enjoyed a fine art career, creating paintings in Watercolor, Gouache, Casein, and Acrylic. These works were exhibited widely and a highlight of this career was having a painting included in the exhibition, “200 Years of Water Color Painting in America,” 1966 -1967 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, NY. Alex became a signature member of American Watercolor Society in 1953 (VP, 1972-1974) and had paintings accepted in their annual juried exhibitions during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was also a member of the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, a Fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters (Zurich, Switzerland), a two-time president of the Artists Guild of Chicago, member of Watercolor USA Honor Society, and a signature member of Midwest Watercolor Society (now Transparent Watercolor Society of America). Alex was listed in “Who’s Who in American Art.” In 2023, Alex's personal papers were inducted into the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Take a look at Alex's resume' on page 2 of this site to see a summary of his fine art career. Alex’s exhibitions and awards are shown in order on page 3 in the form of a spreadsheet. On page 4, you will find many reproductions of his commercial career as well as letters, clippings and other documents related to his fine art career. On page 5, there are photos of some of the certificates, trophies, and plaques from his fine art career. And finally, on page 6, there is a gallery that shows a sampling of Alex's paintings from different times of his life.
Alex F. Yaworski lived in Chicago for over 60 years before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1991. He died on March 25, 1997.
Paintings are copyright Alex F. Yaworski Estate and may not be used without permission.
Photo of Alex F. Yaworski by Don Yaworski, 1973 http://don-yaworski-photographer-and-watercolorist.weebly.com
Don Yaworski Blog about Alex F. Yaworski: https://don-yaworski.blogspot.com/2012/01/alex-f-yaworski-artist.html?view=sidebar