Maximilian Toch
Encyclopedia
Maximilian Toch was an American paint manufacturer and industrial chemist who developed a concrete filler method that was used in the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. He was the co-owner of the New York firms Toch Brothers and the Standard Varnish Works, where he was head of research and production. Before and during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he was a major contributor to the development of ship camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

, as well as an early practitioner of the use of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 in the authentication of works of art.

Background

According to an obituary in the New York Times (1946), Toch was born and raised in New York. He attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 as an undergraduate, then completed his graduate studies at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He also earned degrees in law. He taught chemistry and chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...

 and industrial chemistry at colleges and universities, including Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...

, Beijing University, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

, and 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...

.

Ship camouflage

According to the New York Times (1946), in which Toch is referred to as “America’s first camoufleur,” he originated the color adopted by the U.S. Navy as standard “battleship gray.” By his own account (Toch 1919), he had camouflaged fortifications in Panama as early as 1915, the success of which led to his being assigned to camouflage shipyards and docks on the East Coast of the U.S. during World War I.

In 1917, a ship concealment plan devised by Toch, known as the Toch System, was one of five camouflage measures approved by the U.S. Naval Consulting Board for use on merchant ships (Behrens 2009, pp. 350–351). He became convinced that it was largely impossible to lower the visibility of a ship, but that a better objective would be course deception (Toch 1931a, pp. 308–309), popularly known as dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage
Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a camouflage paint scheme used on ships, extensively during World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II...

.

Art authentication

Toch’s outspoken views about the use of chemical analysis in authenticating works of art became controversial in the 1920s (Hendrick 1929), when he claimed that the majority of paintings attributed to Rembrandt had not in fact been painted by him (Toch 1931b), including works in the collections of art museums. As a result, it was said at the time that art dealers “entertain a wholesome fear of him” (Hendrick 1919, p. 704).

His writings

Toch produced books on subjects related to chemistry, among them The Chemistry and Technology of Mixed Paints (1907), Materials for Permanent Painting (1911), How To Paint Permanent Pictures (1922), Paint, Paintings and Restoration (1931), and Protection and Decoration of Concrete (1931). He was the uncle of art materials expert Ralph Mayer, author of The Artist’s Handbook (1940).

See also

  • Everett L. Warner
  • Camouflage
    Camouflage
    Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

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