Aronson was born in Kr?slava, in the Vitebsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia) in 1872. He studied art at the Vilna Art School before moving to Paris, where he would live for 50 years. A photograph of his work 'l'Adolescence' was purchased by Sir Abe Bailey for the Johannesburg Art Gallery. He was commissioned for the bronze statue 'Peace which surmounts the Rand Regiments Memorial. He maintained six galleries in Paris, but kept his prize pieces, including the bust of Rasputin, in his Montparnasse studio. After the German invasion of France in 1940, he was forced to flee the country. He arrived in New York City as a refugee in March 1941 aboard the Serpa Pinto. He died two years later in his Upper West Side studio at the age of 71. (See Wikipedia)