From 1900 to 1903 Conrad Buff (the second of that name) studied lace design at the School of Arts and Crafts in Saint Gallen, Switzerland, and in 1900 briefly attended a private art school in Munich. In 1905 he came to the United States, working his way west from Wisconsin. In 1907 he settled in Los Angeles, supporting himself as a house painter and decorator until about 1918, painting when he could.
Buff participated in exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum beginning in 1920, and was given solo exhibitions there in 1921 and 1940. Solo exhibitions of his work were held in Los Angeles at the Ilisley Galleries in 1933 and the Stendahi Art Galleries in 1934. He won the painting prize from the California State Fair in 1924, the Mrs. Henry E. Huntington Prize from the Los Angeles Museum in 1925, and the Fine Arts Society First Prize from the Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, in 1926.
In 1922 he married Mary Marsh. Together they illustrated children’s books, the first published in 1937, and traveled to Europe, the Southwest, Central America, and the Orient to gather material. During the late 1920s and early 1930s Buff was also active as a muralist. He created three murals under the auspices of the New Deal projects in 1934 and 1940. During and after the depression he devoted himself increasingly to lithography and book illustrations, and it was his graphic work that earned for him a national reputation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Archiv. Am. Art, Stendahi Art Galleries Papers § Arthur Millier, "Our Artists in Person, no. 7: Conrad Buff," Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1930, pt. 3, pp. 20,22 § University of California, Los Angeles, Oral History Program, "Conrad Buff: Artist," interview by Elizabeth I. Dixon, 1964, with list of books by Conrad Buff and Mary Buff § Moure with Smith 1975, pp. 32-33, with bibliography § Los Angeles, Security Pacific National Bank, Gallery at the Plaza, Conrad Buff II: Western Landscapes, 1920-1975, exh. cat., 1983, with essay by Tressa R. Miller and lists of public collections, murals, major exhibitions, and awards.
