Stella Bloch
1897 – 1999
Stella Bloch's artistic career lasted over 80 years and reflected her appreciation of African-American culture, Asian culture, and dance. Bloch studied dance in the Far East, and was one of Isadora Duncan's first students. She began exhibiting her artwork in New York City and Boston in 1919.
During the 1920s, Bloch fell in love with jazz, and spent much of her time at Harlem night clubs and record shops. She sketched Bessie Smith at the Lincoln Theatre, and dancers and musicians at the Alhambra Theatre in Harlem. Other subjects of the time included Josephine Baker and Thelonious Monk.
In 1931, Bloch moved to Hollywood with her second husband, lyricist Edward Eliscu. Bloch was a childhood friend of director George Cukor, who once said that she and her cousin Mortimer Offner influenced him more than his own family. In Hollywood, Bloch did dance portraits of Fred Astaire and Bill (Bojangles) Robinson.
Bloch and her family returned to New York and Harlem in 1950, where she painted and drew scenes of daily life near Central Park. They moved to Newtown, CT in 1964.
During the 1920s, Bloch fell in love with jazz, and spent much of her time at Harlem night clubs and record shops. She sketched Bessie Smith at the Lincoln Theatre, and dancers and musicians at the Alhambra Theatre in Harlem. Other subjects of the time included Josephine Baker and Thelonious Monk.
In 1931, Bloch moved to Hollywood with her second husband, lyricist Edward Eliscu. Bloch was a childhood friend of director George Cukor, who once said that she and her cousin Mortimer Offner influenced him more than his own family. In Hollywood, Bloch did dance portraits of Fred Astaire and Bill (Bojangles) Robinson.
Bloch and her family returned to New York and Harlem in 1950, where she painted and drew scenes of daily life near Central Park. They moved to Newtown, CT in 1964.
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