The following is submitted by James Wyatt Earp. Most of the information from his biography of the artist, written from articles from old newspaper clippings and magazines, and personal letters of the artist.

Florence Julia Bach (1887 - 1978)

Florence Julia Bach was an American painter and a native of Buffalo, New York. She was born June 24, 1887 to John Lewis Bach and Julia Spies Bach. At an early age, Miss Bach displayed a marked aptitude for drawing. In her childhood, the paper dolls she painted were the envy of her playmates, and she used to wish that the school session was one uninterrupted drawing period.

She was educated in the Buffalo public school and also had private instruction at the Mme. Farine School of Speech. Additionally, she studied art with Professor Carl Wachter at the University of Buffalo. Following her graduation from Lafayette High School, she enrolled in the Buffalo Art Students League. Her talent won immediate recognition, and she was awarded a scholarship to continue her study at the Art Students League of New York City under Frank Vincent DuMond, as well as William Merritt Chase, the best known American portrait painter at that time. Later, in 1925, she studied modeling at the Ecole de Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau, France under Monsieur Le Jeune. In the early 1930's, she went to Italy for further study.

An artist of long experience, she had for years enjoyed recognition for her skill in floral portrayal. Miss Bach, working from nature, produced clear, accurate, realistic paintings. She spent many of her summers at the farm of her aunt, Mrs. Anna Phelps, near Bethel, Connecticut, and it was there that she painted many still life and flower studies.

Bach was also a portrait artist in both painting and sculpture. Included among her subjects were:
Commodore Harry E. Montague
Dr. Charles Cary
Dr. Kahler
Mrs. Charles Cary
Mrs. James Crate
Elsa Schmidt
George Cary's two children, Marialove and Charles Cary
Arletta Lothrop
Mary Francis Larkin
Dr. William Warren Quinton
Dorothy Douglas
Mrs. H. A. Kidder
Miss Rose Movius
Edward Dufner
David Ericson
Urquhart Wilcox
Elizabeth MacKinstry
Mary B. W. Coxe
Ernest Fosbury
Eugene Monahan

She also did a decorative panel, five feet by nine feet, for the Farney Wurlitzer home in Tonawanda.

Miss Bach once said that "Any intelligent person can learn to draw, but that does not mean that anyone can become an artist. For the artist must do more than reproduce what he sees - he must interpret - give something of himself to his painting." Miss Bach had a rare privilege of viewing art from every angle. As instructor in the School of Fine Arts in Buffalo for 29 years, she observed the early stages of its development in the work of her students. As President of the Buffalo Society of Fine Arts, she was afforded an exceptional opportunity to see the outstanding paintings produced there. As artist and sculptor, she knew the satisfaction of creative achievement.

In 1943, taking a leave of absence, Miss Bach moved from New York to Bethel, Connecticut with Mrs. Evelyn C. Murnam. After recovering from a broken hip, she returned to live in Manhattan in 1945. Years later, she moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1970, she was teaching one day a week in Greenwich, Connecticut.

For recreation, Miss Bach enjoyed her walks and reading about history and the lives of artists. Her favorite food was Italian, particularly spaghetti but she also loved chow - mein. She spent her last years enjoying her gardens and her love for cooking. She will be remembered by many with sincere respect and abiding affection.

Honors
Diploma, First Degree Sculpture, Ecole des Beaux Arts, Fontainebleau
winner of Buffalo Society of Artists' Fellowship Prize in 1917 and 1922
Member of the Council, Buffalo Society of Artists 1926
Member Jury of Award, Fellowship Prize, Buffalo Society of Artists Exhibition of 1926
Awarded a medal for distinguished service in art at the Buffalo Centennial in 1932

In the decade of the 20's and since, she has received many awards and has been an exhibiting member Grand Central Galleries, Inc; New York.

Florence Julia Bach (American, 1887-1978) was a painter, sculptor, pastel artist and art instructor primarily known for sculptures as well as portraits, figurative/nudes, and floral still lifes in oil and pastels. Florence “Flora” Julia Bach was born June 24, 1887 to electro-plater, John Lewis Bach (1864-1924 of Rutherford, NJ), and Julia (née Spiesz/aka Spies) Bach (1859-1918) who were married July 8, 1886 in Buffalo, NY. Florence Julia Bach’s early education was in the Buffalo public schools No. 45 and Lafayette High School. After graduating from high school, she briefly studied at the University of Buffalo, as well as the School of Speech Arts with Professor Carl Wachter and privately with Madame Farine. At the same time, she began her formal art training at the Art Students’ League of Buffalo (later known as the Albright Art School of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy), Albright Art Gallery under Mary Bowman Wheeler Coxe (American, 1868-1921) and modeling instructor, Elizabeth Conkling McKinstry (AKA MacKinstry, American, 1878-1956) where her talents were immediately recognized and she was awarded a scholarship in 1908 to continue her studies at the Art Students’ League in New York City where she studied with noted portrait painters, William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916) and Frank Vincent Dumond (American, 1865-1951). Afterwards, she spent several months abroad studying at the École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleau, Paris, France where she studied modelling under Louis-Aimé Lejéune (French, 1884-1969) and received her diploma in sculpture. Afterward, she continued her studies in France and Germany. After her return to New York City, she was invited to teach modeling at the Art Students’ League, a position she held for two years.

In 1913, Bach moved back to Buffalo where she began her long teaching career as an instructor in antique drawing, painting, sculpture/modeling/casting, portrait, life and anatomy at the Buffalo School of Fine Arts (Albright Art School) and was highly respected not only for her instruction, but for her art career as well. In addition, she was also a member of the faculty of the evening school there. She maintained her studio and residence at 1000 Elmwood Avenue in the city and later moved them to 1110 Elmwood Avenue where she stayed for many years and was in the same building where she first studied art, the site of the old Art Students’ League of Buffalo. Later residences included: 103 Anderson Place, Buffalo, NY and then 557 Bird Avenue in Buffalo located near Soldier’s Circle which was only a few blocks down from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright Knox Art Gallery) and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Alongside her teaching profession, Bach actively painted and was a member of several art organizations where she regularly exhibited her artwork and won several awards over the course of her long career. As a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists (BSA), Bach won many exhibition awards between 1915 and 1924, including the Fellowship Prize in 1917 and 1922. She became a member of the BSA Council in 1926, the same year she became a member of the Jury of Awards and Fellowship Prize for the BSA exhibition of 1926. Bach served as BSA President from 1929-1930. She also won the Buffalo Centennial Medal for service in the field of art in 1932, the Syracuse Regional Purchase Prize in 1941, the Popular Prize at the Carnegie Institute in 1949, and Gold Medal at the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club (CLWAC) in 1954, and she was also made an honorary member of the CLWAC. In addition, she was an exhibiting member of the The Patteran Society of Buffalo and Charter Member of the Town Club of Buffalo, the latter of which, the Club’s art committee had opened a gallery on their third floor in the fall of 1927 under the chairmanship of Florence Bach (which was made available to all Buffalo artists), as well as a member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors and the Art Alliance, a national organization with headquarters in New York City. She also exhibited at the well-known Carnegie Institute and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) in Pittsburgh, PA.

Many of Bach’s portraits in oil, pastel or charcoal included the likes of notable Buffalonians, artists, writers, patrons and friends alike, such as: Dr. Charles Cary as well as his wife Mrs. Charles Cary (Evelyn Rumsey-Cary), Ernest Fosbery, Mrs. James Crate, Miss Mary Frances Larkin, Miss Susan Fisk, Dr. William Warren Quinton, Miss Carol Keating, Mr. Frederick A. Kahler, Elsa Schmidt (daughter of Mrs. Hans Schmidt), Evelyn Christie Phelps Murnan, Jane Green Penfold, Maria Love, Margaret M. Blakeslee, and Mrs. Joseph L. Hudson to name a few. She stated that her definition of a good portrait included three things: #1-It must first of all have good draftsmanship; #2-It should have the expression of color which comes from the intuitive sense of the artist; and #3-It should be more than a likeness, it should be an artistic creation. In 1928, Bach designed and executed a bronze tablet portrait of Arthur Victor, of Victor & Co., for their new department store located at Genesee & Main Streets in Buffalo, which was cast by the world-famous Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany’s), NYC.

In the early 1930’s, Bach traveled to Italy and France for further art study and during her career, had also traveled throughout the United States and made several study trips to California. Bach was a ‘lover of music’ and attended most of the good plays and concerts that came through Buffalo, as well as enjoyed listening to the great maestros and musicians on local radio broadcasts. In 1931, She once stated that if she hadn’t been an artist, she likely would have been a musician and preferred the violin as it was, “nearest to the human voice,” she said. During her time off from teaching, she spent many summers on her aunt’s farm, Mrs. Anna Phelps, near Bethel, CT along with her beloved Persian cat “Mitzie” who often had traveled with her, and it was there that she painted many of her still life and flower studies. When asked about modern art, she said, “In the modern field, in my opinion Charles Burchfield’s paintings are at the top. The fantasy, the intentions behind the brush and their rich color give me delight and satisfaction.”

By the summer of 1943, Bach had briefly opened a studio in Newton, CT and after teaching for 30 years at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy she resigned in September of that year with the intent of opening her own school in New York City. Around that same time, she briefly resided in Bethel, CT with Mrs. Evelyn C.P. Murnam to recover from a broken hip. She then moved to Manhattan in the fall of that same year where she opened a studio for portrait and other creative pursuits as well as continued to actively exhibit her work. From December 5-16, 1944, Bach had her first solo “Debut Exhibition” of floral still lifes at the renowned Grand Central Art Galleries (GCAG) in New York City due to the solicitation of Edwin S. Barrie, director of the GCAG, who had discovered her work in the New York State Exhibition at the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts held in 1941 (Where she won Purchase Prize) and was struck by their charm and artistic quality. From that show, she sold 11 paintings which ranged from $350-$800, as well as received orders for 11 more. Furthermore, some of those paintings from the exhibit were purchased by prominent collectors to include, the president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the editor of Reader’s Digest and the Encyclopædia Britannica collection. She followed up with another solo show at the GCAG in 1951, where she reported that everything she had sent was sold.

Bach later moved to Danbury, CT residing at 20 Maple Avenue and eventually settled in Greenwich, CT, where she taught art part-time to women one day a week at the Greenwich Country Club. Florence Julia Bach died on April 19, 1978 in Greenwich, CT. Her artwork is in many private, public and museum collections to include the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright Knox Art Gallery) as well as the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and previously in the prestigious Sellars Collection of Art by American Women (Alan and Louise Sellars, Marietta, GA) which is now in the permanent collection of the Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL.


(Written & compiled by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY, 14052, meibohmfinearts.com)