Alps in Switzerland
Artist
Conrad Buff
(1886 - 1975)
Date1940
MediumOil on Masonite
Dimensions34 x 50 1/2 in. (86.4 x 128.3 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the Hilbert Collection
Object number2022.134
DescriptionConrad Buff II was born in 1886 in Switzerland. At the age of 14, Buff was at first apprenticed to a baker, but he later went to Munich and studied art. In 1905, he emigrated to New York. He worked his way west by taking various odd jobs as a sheepherder, pastry chef, railroad laborer and house painter. By 1906, he had made his way to San Francisco, but finding the city in ruins as a result of the earthquake and fire, he headed for Southern California, eventually settling in Laguna Hills with his wife, Mary. He and Mary became a successful children’s-book team, with Mary writing the books and Conrad illustrating them – but throughout his life, Conrad always created fine-art paintings as well. Buff's landscapes emphasize geometric forms with a strong sense of architecture. As his work matured, it became increasingly flatter and more abstract.
On View
Not on viewCollections
1979
