Koch - "Writing Letters" Realistic oil painting of woman writing a letter

John Koch • American: 1909-1978

Writing Letters • Oil on Canvas 16” x 20”

A recent Ann Arbor high school graduate sat by himself amid the high-walled galleries of the most famous art museum in the world, the Paris Louvre. He spent long hours copying the art of Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer, learning to capture their techniques and make them his own. It was 1927 and 18-year old John Koch was teaching himself to be a famous artist. It was an art-study course designed and taught by himself to himself. If student success is the measure of teaching success, he proved to be an exceptionally good teacher, if a bit stubborn and full of himself.

Of course, it’s not bragging if you do it.

Sure enough, Koch began to develop his own distinct artistic style, drawing inspiration from the masterpieces he studied at the Louvre. He came, he saw, he conquered, and four years later, he headed to New York to begin his career.

To pay the rent, he began painting $10,000 portraits of wealthy patrons, including publisher Malcolm Forbes, members of the Roosevelt family and Princess Margaret. He also began to romance Dora Zaslavsky, a talented (and married) pianist who served as coach to some of the leading concert musicians of the day. Soon, Dora’s first husband was out of the picture and she created a life with Koch that he deemed too interesting to keep to himself. From their elegant fourteen-room apartment overlooking Central Park, the couple hosted parties for their upper-crust friends. Koch’s studio was in the apartment and he painted a constant stream of clothed and unclothed models. The apartment, his wife, his models and his guests became the subject matter for his most famous paintings.

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Koch also included himself in almost all of his paintings. Nothing was off limits. He even captured intimate moments with his wife from a fourth-wall perspective.

A contemporary realist, Koch disdained the esoteric thinking driving the modern art scene. Using oils and egg tempura to create a luminous look, he often arranged his nude subjects in poses reflecting the Greek sculptures and Renaissance paintings he saw while wandering through the Louvre as an arrogant teenager.

“The Louvre taught me my major lessons,” he said. Depending on your viewpoint, it was either fortunate or tragic that he never made it to the modern art galleries.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Gift of Canton Fine Arts Associates, Canton Museum of Art 76.8

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“Koch was a self-taught artist who learned to paint just from viewing art in the Louvre. So you’re saying there’s a chance…”

2.
“Lounging around in your living room painting nude models all day? Not a bad gig if you can get it.”

3.
“Using egg tempura and then glazing with oils, Koch was able to create a lustrous appearance, much like his inspiration Vermeer did.”

4.
“Koch’s wife Dora was a talented musician who held piano lessons in their extravagant Manhattan apartment. One of her students was acclaimed classical pianist Abbey Simon.”

Koch Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1909

Born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to an Irish mother and a father. His father failed as a furniture salesman and had an unsuccessful run at Governor of Michigan on the Socialist ticket.

1926-27

Spent two summers visiting The Art Colony in Provincetown, Mass., where his passion for the arts began.

1927-30

18-year-old Koch opted not to go to college, instead sailing to Paris to pursue a painters’ life. He taught himself to paint by frequenting the Louvre and copying the techniques and styles used in world famous artworks.

Early 1930s

He joined the Internationale Union des Intellectuals, where he met with other artists and intellectuals in their homes to discus the finer points of painting. He was barely into his 20s.

1930s

Koch became enamored with creating realistic paintings of nude men and women, sometimes in a bed or bathtub. He was said to have enjoyed the reaction these pieces got.

1934

Koch went to New York where he met Jewish immigrant Dora Zaslavsky – a talented pianist and teacher. She was married at the time, but left her husband for Koch. The two married and became socialites, gaining a sophisticated circle of friends.

1953-54

Elected into the National Academy of Design in New York where he promoted arts in America through instruction and exhibition. He received its highest rank of Academician.

1954

Koch and his wife upgraded to a fourteen-room apartment at the El Dorado, overlooking Central Park West. There they hosted large parties and gatherings. Koch had ample studio space and Dora taught private music classes from home. The interior of this apartment is seen in many Koch paintings.

1950s-70s

The subject matter of Koch’s mature art featured friends, artists, models, teachers, students, apartment dwellers, and even contractors. The Cocktail Party (1956) is his first and most well-known painting showcasing his social circle.

1975

Koch suffered a stroke and was forced to stop painting while he worked to regain the use of his right hand.

1978

Koch has a second stroke, resulting in his death at the age of 69.