16 Facts About Aaron Scharf

Aaron Scharf was an American-born British art historian who contributed in particular to the history of photography in which he had developed an interest while studying at the Courtauld Institute.

Aaron Scharf's investigation uncovered links between painting and photography, and evidence for artists using photography for reference and other purposes, as well as the way photographers with aspirations as artists referred to painting in their work.

Aaron Scharf thus pioneered a new field of art history when Pop Art and other movements in the 1960s were reincorporating the medium of photography and reference to popular photographic images, into mainstream artistic practice.

Aaron Scharf was born in America on 22 September 1922 to Irving Aaron Scharf and his wife, Jeanette Shack a Jewish immigrant from Volochysk.

Aaron Scharf studied art and anthropology at the University of California where he became engaged to a fellow student Annette Rose in 1946, whom he married on 8 September.

Aaron Scharf was a committed communist and became the first to play the part of Mother Courage in an English-language production of the play of the same name by the German communist playwright Bertolt Brecht.

Aaron Scharf completed his doctoral thesis exploring the relationship between photography and painting there over a period of five years, from 1961 to 1966.

At the time of writing Creative Photography Aaron Scharf had attained his first academic post as head of the department of history of art and complimentary studies at Saint Martin's School of Art.

At the time of publication, Aaron Scharf had become head of the History of Art and Complementary Studies Department at St Martin's School of Art, London.

Aaron Scharf had divorced Ruth, who went on to act for television and films, including Highlander, The Lords of Discipline and The Ted Kennedy Jr.

In 1969 Aaron Scharf joined The Open University, Milton Keynes, England, moving to Deanshanger 10 miles away.

Aaron Scharf stayed there, as Professor of Art History writing art history courses and pursuing personal research, until pressured out by other staff in 1982.

The BBC's landmark eight-part series Pioneers of Photography was fronted by Aaron Scharf and looked at the history and development of photography.

Aaron Scharf had become ill and he and Marina moved to a farm at Briston, Melton Constable, Norfolk.

In 1983 and semi-retired Aaron Scharf taught as a Visiting Lecturer in Photography in the Design Department at Norwich, even when ill and tired.

Aaron Scharf died on 21 January 1993, survived by his wife Marina and son Caleb, an astrophysicist.