Louis George Bouché

ABOUT THE ARTIST: From old card: Louis Bouche, American (1896-1969). Studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Although his major subject was New York and many of his paintings were in the spirit of the Ash Can School, he was not a member of the group and experimented with Cubist and Surrealist approaches to painting. He won many awards and medals during his long career which stretched from 1909 until his death in 1969. From The Index of Twentieth Century Artists: Louis Bouche was born in New York City on March 18, 1896. He studied for a time with Richard E. Miller and then went abroad to complete his art training. In Paris he worked under Simon, Menard, and JP Laurens learning the academic tradition of painting from which he never entirely departed. Back in New York again Bouche studied with Frank V. DuMond, Ossip Linde and F. Luis Mora. For a time his painting showed the visible influence of the Armory Show of 1913 but then his work was given up in order to paint murals. His interest in the practical application of art led to the making of some distinctive panel including some painted on glass. About 1932 he returned to the making of easel pictures. His work now showed the influence of European artists such as Picasso, de Chirico, and Lurcat. He made use of cubes and cones in geometric designs for the arrangements of his compositions. This constituted a very abrupt break with his first artistic style, but this change appeared justified when in 1933 Louis Bouche received a Guggenheim Fellowship for work in creative painting to further his experiments in the realm of abstract art. He then got away from the dull color schemes of his first period and his new compositions became sparkling and vivid, the forms and still life objects treated in a compelling way which was very ple