Humidor
German-born Oscar Bach was one of the most talented and commercially successful metalworkers in America during the first half of the twentieth century. His oeuvre ranges from small decorative objects like this box to grand architectural elements, and his varied designs reference Arts and Crafts, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque Revival, as well as Art Deco styles. After studying and working in Europe and winning the Grand Prize at the World’s Exposition in Turin for a bed he designed for Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1911, Bach moved to New York and opened a metal design studio with his brother Max. Bach exhibited his work routinely at The Metropolitan Museum’s industrial art exhibitions as well as at other museums. The Architectural League of New York awarded him a medal of honor for design and craftsmanship in industrial art in 1926, and he received countless commissions for domestic and public architectural projects including the Woolworth Building, Riverside Church, Toledo Museum of Art, Temple Emanu-El, Cranbrook School, the Chrysler Building, and Radio City Music Hall. Bach successfully retailed his metalwork throughout the United States through department stores such as Manhattan’s B. Altman, Joseph Horne in Pittsuburgh, and Toldeo’s Forster-Smith. Many prominent homes and public buildings across the United States featured Bach’s metalwork, and his designs helped define taste and style for his era.
Artwork Details
- Title: Humidor
- Maker: Oscar Bruno Bach (1884–1957)
- Date: ca. 1926
- Culture: American
- Medium: Silver, silver-gilt, copper and wood
- Dimensions: 5 × 6 7/8 × 11 3/4 in. (12.7 × 17.5 × 29.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020
- Object Number: 2021.14.19
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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