Charles Walch Biography

Charles Walch was a French artist who was born in Thann, Alsace, 1898. Walch became interested in art during his early youth and came in 1918 to Paris where he studied painting at the school of Decorative Arts and befriended another artist who was to become his contemporary, François Desnoyer. He attended the school of Beaux-Arts in Paris, advancing to become a specialised professor of drawing in 1923. His works were exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indpendants, des Tuileries and dAutomne from 1925, and he went on to work under the guidance of Bonnard and Marquet in 1934. Walch painted joyful works celebrating his love of life, and this was marked by the award of a gold medal at the 1937 International Exhibition, and he was then subsequently contracted to The Louis Carr gallery in 1941. In his later life he rubbed shoulders with Georges Rouault and shortly before his death in 1948, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur. In homage to Walch's remarkable life's work The Museum of Modern Art in Paris organised a retrospective exhibition of his paintings, engravings, drawings, gouaches and sculptures, from November 1949 until February 1950. Many works by the artist have been sold at auction in recent years, including 'LA CRAVATIERE', sold at Artcurial Briest-Poulain-F. Tajan 'Modern Art' in 2008 for $19,514.

Artist's Statement

"Walch painted joyful works celebrating his love of life".