(1863–1931)
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, John Bond Francisco was a serious student of the violin and painting, both of which he studied in Munich. He also studied painting at the Académie Julian under William Bouguereau, Gustave Courtois, and Robert-Fleury, and at the Académie Colarossi under Thomas Couture and Jean-André Rixens. The disciplines he developed during this important period of his young career helped his become one of California's most important artists.
After completing his European studies, Francisco traveled to California in 1887 and settled in Los Angeles. He became a prominent cultural figure there; he performed as a violinist, painted, taught, and entertained in his lavish home and studio, which he built at 1401 Albany Street. Francisco was a founding member of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra in 1897 and served as its first concertmaster.
Francisco’s first exhibition in Los Angeles in 1892 was almost exclusively figural studies reminiscent of the work he produced during his time at the Académie Julian. In 1899 he opened his own art school, and while he continued painting figural subjects, he also began to explore the California landscape. His early landscapes were influenced by the French Barbizon school, but he soon took up a lighter impressionist palette. In 1906, the Santa Fe Railroad recognized his talents as a landscape painter and commissioned Francisco to paint a series of scenes of the Grand Canyon to be used to promote the region and the railroad.
J. Bond Francisco was a member of many California art organizations and he served on the Chicago World’s Fair jury in 1893. His home became a social, artistic, and theatrical destination for many in the Los Angeles area. Many notable musicians, artists, and actors were entertained in the spacious and inviting Francisco home and studio. Celebrities like Sarah Bernhardt, Victor Herbert, and Lillian Russell were frequent guests at the grand parties hosted by the artist and his wife.
