258 - Josef Floch* (Vienna 1894 - 1977 New York)

Josef Floch* (Vienna 1894 - 1977 New York) Painter and models (Red Shade III), 1963 oil/canvas 66 x 66 cm signed Floch, dated 1963 cf. Pallauf, catalogue raisonné Floch, 2000, p. 396, nr. 736 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE °€ 18000 - 28000 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE °€ 18000 The Austrian-American painter Josef Floch (1894 Vienna – 1977 New York) studied at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts from 1913 to 1918 under Rudolf Bacher, Franz Rumpler, and Hans Tichy, where he was influenced early on by Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and Anton Faistauer, and developed his Expressionist style. Study trips to Egypt, Palestine, and the Netherlands deepened his engagement with Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hans von Marées, Paul Cézanne, and Van Gogh, leading to a gradual shift towards Realism and introspective compositions. From 1922 to 1938, Floch was a member of the Hagenbund and regularly participated in its exhibitions. Alongside this, he moved to Paris in 1925/26 and established himself in the Montparnasse art scene. In Paris, he participated in prominent salons—the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Tuileries—and exhibited works at Berthe Weill’s gallery (alongside Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani). He was close friends with Willy Eisenschitz, who introduced him to the Parisian art scene. Floch’s style evolved toward melancholic interiors, terrace paintings, and figure compositions that radiate loneliness and emotional distance—typical of exile painting and art of those years, comparable to Anton Kolig or the Hundsgruppe (Dog Group). In 1941, he emigrated with his family to New York on the ship Navemar, where Ernst, Minna, and Thomas Lachs were also on board. Exhibitions at the Associated American Artists Gallery and numerous museums followed in 1944, solidifying his success in America. In 1956, he received the Cross of the French Legion of Honor, and in 1963, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres. Floch is considered a bridge-builder between Viennese Expressionism and American Realism, with parallels to Max Liebermann and Edward Hopper in his sober yet sensitive depiction of urban scenes and interiors. His work, influenced by Cézanne's formal power and Dutch light, embodies the fate of exiled painters. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.