Oscar Bach

A talented and versatile artist of the early 20th century, Oscar B Bach produced some of the most famous decorative metalwork pieces, applying a wide range of metals and metalworking methods in his work. At Bidsquare auctions you'll find many styles of Oscar Bach lamps available in metal, bronze, and iron.

A unique revival of Arts and Crafts, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, English Chippendale, American Art Deco, and French Directoire styles are all reflected in his varied creations, which include small decorative objects like boxes as well as grand architectural elements. A particular fondness for the zodiac, mythical symbols, vine scrolls, and grotesque elements of the Italianate and Germanic traditions characterized his work on a thematic level. The style of his work was as varied as the metals he used.

A German native, he graduated from the Royal Academy and Imperial Academy of Art in Berlin before working as an artistic director of a Hamburg-based metal arts firm. It was here that he crafted a Bible cover encrusted with jewels for Pope Leo XIII, a testament to his art which is now part of the permanent collection of the Vatican. In the following years, Bach received several prestigious commissions, including designing metalwork for the new Berlin city hall and several other civic buildings. At the 1911 World's Exposition in Turin, Bach designed a bed for Kaiser Wilhelm II that won him the Grand Prix. He moved to New York City to start his own business together with his brother that same year. Oscar immediately began creating beautiful metal objects for affluent New Yorkers and personalized ornamental pieces for country estates, which flourished throughout the 1920s and 1930s. 

These early designs from Oscar Bach are often adorned with a metal inscription that reads OSCAR B BACH / NEW YORK / STUDIOS INC along with an image of a woman flanked by two double B's. There are some whose unfielded stamps read OBASO-BRONZE / OSCAR.B. BACH.STUDIOS as well. By way of small-scale "mass production," Bach produced many of his most popular items like ashtrays and lamps, while he left himself wide open to produce uniquely luxurious items for exclusive clients as well. Original Oscar Bach lamps including floor lamps and table lamps were often created in the early 20th century in the Art Deco style.

As well as exhibiting at other museums, Bach regularly participated in the Industrial Art exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum. He received a medal of honor from the Architectural League in 1926 for design and craftsmanship in industrial art, and he was commissioned to design numerous public and domestic buildings, including Riverside Churches, Woolworth Buildings, Toledo Museum of Art, Cranbrook School, Temple Emanual-El, Radio City Music Hall, and Chrysler Building. A piece he did for Detroit's Blessed Sacrament Cathedral is his earliest known Michigan work (1915) in the US. There are several permanent collections of his work at The Minneapolis Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Wolfsonian, and the Reynolda House in New York City.

Interesting Facts about Oscar Bach

• Arts and crafts figures appear on both Cranbrook’s clock and the doors designed by Bach for the new Toledo Art Museum wing (1925).
• Bach’s career as a metalsmith in Germany spanned from 1904 to 1911, during which he maintained a studio in Venice and traveled extensively in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.