Every morning, Cohn climbs the
years serving.

stairs of his home and paints in his
When the war ended, the
studio for 3-4 hours. Cohn’s artis-
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act,
tic practice was particularly fitting
or GI Bill, opened doors for Cohn,
for OCJAC’s April exhibit, which
who opted to remain in Europe. He
spanned Passover and, according to
began his formal art education in
Wircberg, should therefore encom-
Shrivenham, England, at an Army-
pass an idea from the holiday.

established college campus two hours
“Every day, we’re leaving our
from London.

Mitzrayim, our limitations, our
Cohn visited the National Gallery
boundaries, our comfort zones,”
on most weekends, where he came
Wircberg said.

face-to-face with paintings by Peter
According to Wircberg, Cohn is
Paul Rubens and Rembrandt, a
an artist who pushed his boundaries
limitless well of inspiration for him,
to become the prolific painter behind A Philip Cohn painting of the Philadelphia Mummers
despite the lean collection of the
Parade Courtesy of Michael Kalick
the exhibit.

museum after the war.

The son of immigrants — his
“You look at something for a
father from Russia and his mother from Poland — Cohn had a
while, and you want to do something,” Cohn said.

long journey to becoming a painter.

His art education continued in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania
His family settled in Vineland, New Jersey, and Cohn was
Academy of Fine Arts, where the GI Bill continued to buoy him.

born in 1923, the youngest of five sons. Though Vineland was
Cohn was awarded $90 per month during his time at PAFA, and
he was able to afford art supplies and rent for a studio apartment.

home to several Jewish farm settlements at the time, his father
By 1947, Cohn began submitting materials to local competi-
worked several factory jobs.

tions and was accepted into the Barnes Foundation, where Albert
As his brothers grew older and moved to Philadelphia, visiting
Barnes noticed Cohn’s talent and briefly mentored him.

the city became a romantic idea to Cohn, who escaped into the
His brother Bernie sponsored a trip to Florence, Italy, where
worlds of “Flash Gordon” and “Tarzan,” copying panels from his
Cohn stayed for a year, traveling from city to city and finding
favorite comics, his foray into art.

lodging at an Italian boarding house.

“I always drew, even before I went to art school,” Cohn said.

Still, upon his return to Philadelphia, Cohn couldn’t sustain
As Cohn came of age, the World War II draft thwarted any
himself as an artist. He worked night shifts at Mid-City Press in
desire to move to the city or pursue art more seriously, though he
the 1950s (which then printed the Jewish Exponent), so he would
balanced military duties and figure drawing during his couple of
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