Elmer Bischoff
Encyclopedia
Elmer Nelson Bischoff was a visual artist in the San Francisco Bay Area
.
Bischoff, along with Richard Diebenkorn
and David Park, was part of the post-World War II
generation of artists who started as abstract painters and found their way back to figurative art.
, the second-generation Californian son of a father of German descent and a mother of mixed Swedish-Ecuadoran origin.
He entered the University of California, Berkeley
in September 1934, completing his master's degree in May 1939, and immediately started teaching art at Sacramento High School
(1939–1941). During his years at university, one teacher had influenced him most: the highly independent-minded Margaret Peterson, whose total dedication to her teaching, and insistence on the ethical value of art, were to have a great impact on the artist Elmer Bischoff would be. World War II
, however, was to change Bischoff's life. In 1941, he served as a lieutenant colonel in intelligence services in England
, stationing near Oxford
, and only coming back to the US in November 1945.
After the war, back in San Francisco, Bischoff found himself once more in the midst of avant-garde
artistic ebullience - mixing, among other painters (and to name but two), with such artists as Mark Rothko
and Clyfford Still
. In January 1946, a golden opportunity was offered him: one of his artist friends, Karl Kasten
(himself a war veteran, like Bischoff) suggested Bischoff as art teacher for a position still available, at San Francisco's California School of Fine Arts. It was then that Bischoff entered a faculty which already included some of the most talented new artists of post-war America. It is there that he eventually met David Park and Richard Diebenkorn
.
While distinct from expressionist art
that came from Europe, art of the Bay Area Figurative Movement displays the immediacy and warmth that one sees in abstract expressionist painting. Elmer Bischoff was older than Diebenkorn, and he had experiences in the world that led to his taking an independent turn in painting. Bischoff's quiet and lyrical paintings were serious in a different way from the painting which was being taken seriously at the time; and which saw the rise of Abstract expressionism
.
A retrospective of Elmer Bischoff's work, Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, was offered by the Oakland Museum of California
, November 3, 2001- January 13, 2002. The Crocker Art Museum
(California), the de Young Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
(Washington D.C.), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
(Kansas City, Missouri), the Museum of the National Academy of Design
(New York City), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas), the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
, the Orange County Museum of Art
, the The Phillips Collection (Washington D.C.), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(Washington D.C.) are among the public collections holding works by Elmer Bischoff.
Bischoff was the father of composer John Bischoff.
Elmer Bischoff: the Ethics of Paint (monography), Susan Landauer, 2001, Oakland Museum of California-University of California Press.
Bay Area Figurative Art 1950-1965 (about the Bay Area art movement: esp. David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff), Caroline A.Jones, 1990, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art-University of California Press.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
Bischoff, along with Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn was a well-known 20th century American painter. His early work is associated with Abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His later work were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim.-Biography:Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr...
and David Park, was part of the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
generation of artists who started as abstract painters and found their way back to figurative art.
Biography
Elmer Bischoff, second child of John Bischoff and his wife, Elna (née Elna Nelson), grew up in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, the second-generation Californian son of a father of German descent and a mother of mixed Swedish-Ecuadoran origin.
He entered the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in September 1934, completing his master's degree in May 1939, and immediately started teaching art at Sacramento High School
Sacramento High School
Sacramento Charter High School is an independent public charter high school located in the Alhambra Triangle, adjacent to the Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento, California. Its charter was approved by the Sacramento City Unified School District's Board of Trustees on July 21, 2003...
(1939–1941). During his years at university, one teacher had influenced him most: the highly independent-minded Margaret Peterson, whose total dedication to her teaching, and insistence on the ethical value of art, were to have a great impact on the artist Elmer Bischoff would be. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, however, was to change Bischoff's life. In 1941, he served as a lieutenant colonel in intelligence services in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, stationing near Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and only coming back to the US in November 1945.
After the war, back in San Francisco, Bischoff found himself once more in the midst of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
artistic ebullience - mixing, among other painters (and to name but two), with such artists as Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
and Clyfford Still
Clyfford Still
Clyfford Still was an American painter, and one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism.-Biography:...
. In January 1946, a golden opportunity was offered him: one of his artist friends, Karl Kasten
Karl Kasten
Karl Albert Kasten was a painter-printmaker-educator in the San Francisco Bay Area.- Early life :Kasten, fourth child of Ferdinand Kasten and his wife Barbara Anna Kasten, grew up in San Francisco's Richmond District not far from the peacocks at Golden Gate Park...
(himself a war veteran, like Bischoff) suggested Bischoff as art teacher for a position still available, at San Francisco's California School of Fine Arts. It was then that Bischoff entered a faculty which already included some of the most talented new artists of post-war America. It is there that he eventually met David Park and Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn was a well-known 20th century American painter. His early work is associated with Abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His later work were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim.-Biography:Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr...
.
While distinct from expressionist art
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
that came from Europe, art of the Bay Area Figurative Movement displays the immediacy and warmth that one sees in abstract expressionist painting. Elmer Bischoff was older than Diebenkorn, and he had experiences in the world that led to his taking an independent turn in painting. Bischoff's quiet and lyrical paintings were serious in a different way from the painting which was being taken seriously at the time; and which saw the rise of Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
.
A retrospective of Elmer Bischoff's work, Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, was offered by the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
, November 3, 2001- January 13, 2002. The Crocker Art Museum
Crocker Art Museum
The Crocker Art Museum is one of the leading arts institutions in California, and the longest continuously operating art museum in the West. Located in Sacramento, California, the Crocker has been an art innovator since 1885...
(California), the de Young Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
(Washington D.C.), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 in Kansas City, Missouri. The core of the museum's permanent collection is the Bebe and R. Crosby Kemper Jr. Collection, a gift of the museum's founders. The collection includes works created after the 1913 Armory Show to works by present-day...
(Kansas City, Missouri), the Museum of the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
(New York City), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas), the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is a museum located in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. The museum features visiting exhibits; original selections from its own collection; a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week;...
, the Orange County Museum of Art
Orange County Museum of Art
The Orange County Museum of Art is a museum located in Newport Beach, California.The museum's collection comprises more than 3,000 objects, with a concentration on the art of California from the early 20th century to present...
, the The Phillips Collection (Washington D.C.), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
(Washington D.C.) are among the public collections holding works by Elmer Bischoff.
Bischoff was the father of composer John Bischoff.
External links
Reference books:Elmer Bischoff: the Ethics of Paint (monography), Susan Landauer, 2001, Oakland Museum of California-University of California Press.
Bay Area Figurative Art 1950-1965 (about the Bay Area art movement: esp. David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff), Caroline A.Jones, 1990, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art-University of California Press.
- Marika Herskovic, American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s An Illustrated Survey, (New York School Press, 2003.) ISBN 0-9677994-1-4. p. 38-41
- Marika Herskovic, American Abstract and Figurative Expressionism: Style Is Timely Art Is Timeless (New York School Press, 2009.) ISBN 9780967799421. p. 44-47