Josef Floch

Josef Floch was born in Vienna on November 5, 1894. After attending secondary school, he studied from 1913 to 1918 with Rudolf Bacher and Franz Rumpler at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He got to know important colleagues and collectors, as well as the influential couple of art critics Erika and Hans Tietze. After completing his studies, he became a member of the Hagenbund. Josef Floch was a painter and lithographer. He created a remarkable work of landscapes, figure paintings and portraits. The painting by Hans von Marees and Paul Cézanne had a great influence on him. In 1925 he moved to Paris, where he was able to quickly establish himself with the help of his friend Willy Eisenschitz. He exhibited, among others, in the Salon d’Automne, in the Salon des Tuileries and in Berthe Weill's renowned gallery, which also served international artists such as Picasso and Modigliani. The collapse of the stock exchange in 1929 made it difficult to sell pictures in Europe. He therefore tried to gain a foothold overseas in the early 1930s. In 1934 he married Hermine Fränkl; the two daughters Jenny Eva and Suzanne Marguerite were born. In 1941 the family emigrated to America via Spain. Despite initial problems, Josef Floch was able to celebrate professional success. The first monograph on the artist by Maximilian Gautier was published in Paris in 1942. The family would have loved to return to France after the Second World War, but the young daughter's poor health didn't allow it. Josef Floch died in New York on October 26, 1977.