Best known for his trompe l'oeil still life paintings, Bohrod was born in Chicago and studied at the Art Institute before moving to New York, where he studied with John Sloan at the Art Students League. He followed Sloan's example and drew his subjects from his surroundings early in his career. He returned to Chicago in 1930 where he painted the city and its working classes. He eventually earned a Guggenheim Fellowship that allowed him to travel through the United States recording the American scene. During World War II, he worked as an artist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific. He then worked for Life magazine in Europe. In 1948 he accepted a position as artist-in-residence at University of Wisconsin–Madison. In the 1950s he developed the trompe l'oeil style for which he gained international fame.
