Louis Bouché (1896–1969), Antiques, Route 9-W

Louis Bouché (1896–1969)
Antiques, Route 9-W, 1961
Oil on canvas, 26 ¼ x 22 inches
Gift of the artist’s daughter, Jane Bouché Strong

Bouché was born in New York to French parents and after the death of his father lived with his family in France, from 1909 to 1915. Bouché’s first studies in art were in Paris, including at the Académie Colarossi and the École des Beaux-Arts. Soon after the outbreak of World War I, the family returned to New York, where Bouché studied at the Art Students League. From 1921 to 1926, Bouché directed the Belmaison Galleries in Wanamaker’s Department Store, the first modern art gallery in such a store. He was influential in this role, and helped support many young artists this way, including Reginald Marsh (1898–1954), to whom he gave his first exhibit. Bouché became known for his mural painting as well as for his works in oil, and is identified with the American Scene. This painting, Antiques, Route 9-W, was donated by the artist’s daughter, Jane Bouché Strong, through the Kraushaar Galleries, Inc., of New York, which has represented the artist since 1936. The image plays with the viewer’s conceptions of art, and what might first be seen as the park of a classical Roman villa is soon recognized as the grounds of an antique store in the American countryside. The scene is likely one Bouché knew personally. He described himself as an artist who painted directly, usually from nature, an attitude he promulgated through his teaching, which included time at the Art Students League, as visiting professor in Cincinnati and Des Moines, and at the art school he established in 1951 in Chatham, New York. Bouché’s wife, Marian, is the subject of a portrait by Guy Pène du Bois (1884–1958) that was recently donated to the Museum by the Strong Family (the estate of Bouché’s daughter, Jane).

Text from the catalogue for the exhibition The Eight, The Ashcan School, and The American Scene in the Hillstrom Collection, presented in the Hillstrom Museum of Art February 25 through April 21, 2013.