Scope and Contents

The papers of painter Charles Hoffbauer measure 6.5 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1975. The papers document his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, printed materials, and photographic materials.

Biographical materials include biographical sketches, certificates and awards, diary excerpts, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents, and other records. Correspondence is with family and colleagues, including letters from Rudulph Evans describing work on the Jefferson Memorial statue, letters relating to Hoffbauer's military service during World War I, and other letters regarding murals. Writings and notes include notebooks, drafts, manuscripts, photographs of artwork, and other material for "The Incredible Prophecy," "Napoleon's Russian Campaign," and "War and Peace." Personal business records consist of inventories and price lists, project and exhibition files, business files for Schweitzer Gallery and Walt Disney Productions, and studio records. Booklets, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a scrapbook, and other printed materials document Hoffbauer and his career. Photographic materials include slides, glass slides and negatives, and vintage photographs of Hoffbauer, friends and family, Europe and World War I, and works of art.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as six series.

Biographical / Historical

Charles Hoffbauer (1875-1957) was a painter primarily in Paris, France, and New York, NY.

Hoffbauer was born in Paris and came to the United States in 1909 and established himself in the New York art community. Eventually, he became represented by the Knoedler Galleries and maintained a close, professional relationship with Roland Knoedler throughout his life. Before moving to the U.S., Hoffbauer attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris for three years before entering mandatory military service in Normandy. Once his military duty was fulfilled in 1897, he returned to Paris to begin his career as an artist. Years later he returned to France to fight in World War I.

Hoffbauer produced murals for the Confederate Memorial Institute, Missouri State Capitol, Arras town hall in France, New England Life Insurance Company, and Hayden Planetarium. In the 1930s, he proposed the idea of an animated, historical film based on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 to Walt Disney. Hoffbauer prepared a set of paintings titled "Napoleon's Russian Campaign" to support this idea. Disney declined to make the film, however he hired Hoffbauer as a research artist and remained at Disney for several years.

Hoffbauer died in Boston in 1957.