From 1900 through the twenties, John Bond Francisco was a major cultural figure in Los Angeles, performing as a violinist, painting, teaching and entertaining in his Albany Street studio. He had been a serious young student of both violin and painting in his home state of Ohio and for several years in Europe. And when he arrived in Los Angeles in 1887 at the age of twenty-four, he continued to divide his time between art and music.

In 1897, he aided in the formation of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and became its first concertmaster. He also taught students of violin and organized frequent recitals and chamber music performances. During this time he continued to paint, working mainly in his studio. His first exhibition in Los Angeles in 1892 was almost exclusively figural studies reminiscent of his Julian Academy days.

In 1899 he opened his academy of art and while continuing studio painting - figurals and portraits - he began to experience the lure of California’s countryside. He would hitch up a team and drive out for a day’s painting, often accompanied by students or colleagues. Elmer Wachtel, who had come to him as a student, became a frequent painting companion. Primarily in the San Bernadino mountain range he hunted, fished and painted.

As he concentrated more and more on California landscape, the Barbizon style he had developed during his student years in Europe gave way to a more impressionistic style, the brownish palette developing more robust color. Published notices show he exhibited frequently for three decades and his painting sold well commanding high prices.

An active participant in both the local and international art communities, he was a member of most of California’s art organizations, served on the Chicago World’s Fair jury in 1893 and enjoyed the hospitality of the American Artists’ Club in Munich. In turn, he was a grand host in his Albany Street house. Thus it was that Francisco, who as a student was drawn to both music and art, remained his whole life deeply involved in both worlds.

Studied: Fechner, in Berlin; Nauen, in Munich; Academie Julian, Paris with Bouguereau and Robert-Fleury, 1890; also with G. Courtois in Paris.

Member: Laguna Beach Art association; Los Angeles Art Association; Southern California Art Club; Los Angeles Painters and Sculptors Club.

Exhibited: California Building World’s Colombian Exposition, Chicago 1893.

Works held: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; UCLA.

Sources: WW33; Hughes, Artists of California,190; P&H Samuels, 175.