Joseph Floch Collection
Scope and Content Note
The materials in this collection extensively document the career of Joseph Floch from the mid-twenties until the late seventies. The bulk of the materials is in the form or journal articles and exhibition catalogues. A biography of Floch written by his wife in 1980 after his death is included in Series II. There are a large number of Hermine’s school reports and design patterns and notebooks from Design School. Along with this are personal papers belonging to Elsa Floch, Joseph Floch’s sister, and Hermine. Also included are a certificate and memoirs of Bela Fränkl, Hermine’s father. There is a set of National Academy of Design catalogues from 1948-1978; Floch was an academician at the NAD and also sat on a board of juries there.
Dates
- 1911-1980
- Majority of material found within 1929-1960
Creator
- Elfand, Jenny Floch (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in English, German, French and Hebrew.
Access Restrictions
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
Joseph Floch was born in Vienna, Austria in 1895. He showed signs of artistic talent at an early age and became successful as a painter throughout Europe and the United States. He spent the First World War in Holland studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, and until later on in the war managed to evade military service. When eventually he was conscripted he convinced the military that he was unable to fight for medical reasons and was placed in an office. After the war he worked in Vienna until 1924 when he moved to Paris. There he remained for the following 17 years working in his own studio; he enjoyed great success in Paris. He married Hermine née Fränkl in 1925; she was a close family friend who was ten years his junior. In 1941, Floch and his family immigrated to the United States in order to escape Nazi persecution. He lived and worked in New York until his death in 1977. He was survived by Hermine and their children, Jenny, Arthur and David.
Floch's painting is in the Expressionist style. His subjects are diverse, but the most popular amongst his paintings are interiors with female figures.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection extensively documents the career of Joseph Floch, a painter, mostly through articles and exhibition catalogues, along with personal documents and textile workings of his wife, Hermine Floch.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into two series:
Separated Material
Books removed to the LBI Library:
- Technologie, Bindungslehre, Dekomposition und Kalkulation der Jacquard-Weberei, Franz Donat (A. Hartlebens Verlag, Wien und Leipzig, 1912).
- Kars: La Vie et l’Oeuvre de Georges Kars, Joseph Jolinon (Editions, Imp. Gle du Sud-Est, Lyon, Undated)
- Drawing, Eds: Bruce Duff Hooton, Daniel Brown and David Johnson, Volume 1, No. 1, (Broadaxe Press, New York, 1957)
The Art and Objects Collection holds two of Floch’s paintings:
- Studio with Dark Green Shade (1958)
- The Artist (1955)
The archives hold the following items related to Floch:
- Memories by Joseph Floch (ME 761)
- Photographs from the Joseph Floch Collection (F AR 7218)
Processing Information
Two series were formed separating printed material from personal material. Whole journals were separated leaving only the relevant parts of them in the collection. Four original journals have remained in the collection due to their age and superior quality, however they will not be microfilmed in full.
Two art journals were removed.
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Joseph Floch (1885-1977) 1911-1980 AR 7218
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Corinne Shmuel
- Date
- © 2009
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from JosephFloch.xml
Revision Statements
- February 2011: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
