Aronson (David) is born in Shilova, Lithuania.

David Aronson emigrates with his family to Boston in 1929, settling first in the West End, then in Roxbury. He studies art at the Hecht House and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, where he joins the faculty in 1946. Aronson moves on to Boston University in 1955, where he becomes director of the Fine Arts Department, and retires in 1989.