Franz Albert Bischoff (January 14, 1864 – February 5, 1929) was an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

known primarily for his

China painting China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects, such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porce ...

, floral paintings and California landscapes. He was born in Steinschönau,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(now known as

Kamenický Šenov Kamenický Šenov () is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). He immigrated to the United States as a teenager where he became a naturalized citizen. While in Europe, his early training was focused upon applied design, watercolor and ceramic decorations.

California years

After arriving in the United States, Bischoff worked in New York,

Fostoria, Ohio Fostoria (, ) is a city located at the convergence of Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,046 at the 2020 Census, slightly down from 13,441 at the 2010 Census. It is ap ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

. While in Detroit and Dearborn, he gained success as a porcelain painter, and as a teacher of the techniques, as well as a manufacturer of

ceramic glaze Ceramic glaze, or simply glaze, is a glassy coating on ceramics. It is used for decoration, to ensure the item is impermeable to liquids and to minimize the adherence of pollutants. Glazing renders earthenware impermeable to water, sealing th ...

s as well as a teacher of

watercolor painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

. Franz Bischoff decided to visit California in 1900 and ultimately chose to settle in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area in 1906. Shortly after arriving, he started making arrangements to design and build a large Italian Renaissance style home in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

that also became his studio. This landmark home was completed in 1908. Bischoff was one of the earliest members of the

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

, and the group's second meeting was held at his studio on February 5, 1910. Also present at that meeting were Carl Oscar Borg and William Wendt. Inspired by the California countryside, Bischoff attempted to capture the area's brilliant light and diverse landscapes. Spending less time with ceramic painting following the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Bischoff took up canvas painting. He painted local farms, fishing wharfs, coastal landscapes and scenes of the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, including

Zion National Park Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a ...

. Recognized during his career for use of color and vivid composition, his paintings always displayed reverence for nature. One critic commented that some of his later works flirted with

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and his use of colors were reminiscent of

Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

. Franz Bischoff died of heart failure at home in his adopted city of

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 26,943, up from 25,619 at the 2020 census. It is located in the Western San Gabriel Valley. It is in area and lies betwe ...

, on February 5, 1929.

Selected paintings

File:Arroyo Seco, Pasadena, by Franz Bischoff.jpg, Franz Bischoff "Arroyo Seco, Pasadena" File:Glimpse of the Sea, by Franz Bischoff.jpg, Franz Bischoff "Glimpse of the Sea File:Franz Bischoff "Arroyo Seco".jpg, Franz Bischoff "Arroyo Seco" 18" x 24" Steven Stern Collection File:Franz A. Bischoff - Zion Park.jpg,

File:Franz Bischoff - Aroyo Seco Bridge 1912.jpg, Arroyo Seco Bridge File:'Cholla near Palm Springs, California' by Franz Arthur Bischoff.jpg, Cholla near

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

Awards

* Huntington Prize,

, 1924

Exhibitions

*Nov. 21,2010 - Mar 20, 2011: ''Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains and Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff'', Pasadena Museum of California Art

Galleries & public collections

* Franz Bischoff Gallery of Art * Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, California * Irvine Museum, Irvine, California * Gardena High School, Gardena, California * The Oakland Museum, California * Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California * William A. Karges Fine Art

External links

Franz Bischoff Artist and Gallery web site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bischoff, Franz 1864 births 1929 deaths People from Česká Lípa District German Bohemian people Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States American people of German Bohemian descent 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters American landscape painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists