Josef Floch

Vienna 1894 - 1977 New York

Josef Floch was born in Vienna in 1894. After finishing school, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1913 till 1918 under Rudolf Bacher and Franz Rumpler. He befriended artists and collectors as well as the influential art critics Erika and Hans Tietze. After his studies Floch joined the Hagenbund. As painter and lithographer, he created a rich body of work consisting mostly of landscapes, figurative paintings and portraits. Paintings by Hans von Marées' and Paul Cézanne had a great impact on his style. In 1925 Floch moved to Paris where, thanks to some help by his friend Willy Eisenschitz, he managed to quickly establish himself. He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, at the Salon des Tuileries, and was featured in Berthe Weill’s well-known gallery, which also presented international artists such as Picasso and Modigliani.
During the economic crisis of 1929 it became more difficult to sell paintings in Europe which led Josef Floch to cast an eye overseas in the 1930s. He married Hermine Fränkl in 1934 with whom he had two daughters, Jenny Eva and Suzanne Marguerite. In 1941 he finally emigrated to the United States via Spain. Despite some initial problems he soon became quite successful. Maximilian Gautier published the first monography on the artist in Paris in 1942.
After the war had ended, the Floch family would have liked to move back to France which was made impossible by the youngest daughter’s poor health. Josef Floch died in New York in 1977.