Master Outdoor Painters
Maurice Braun
By Armand Cabrera

Maurice Braun was born in Nagy Bittse, Hungary, October 1877, to Ferdinand and Charlotte Braun. His family moved to New York City when Maurice was four years old. Although he was apprenticed to a jeweler at the age of fourteen, Maurice eventually convinced his parents to let him pursue art. In 1897, he began studying at the National Academy of Fine Arts with Francis Jones, George Maynard, and Edgar Ward. Maurice focused on Portrait and Still Life painting. He then went on to study with William Merritt Chase. By 1909, Maurice had established himself as a Portrait artist in New York. Although very successful, Maurice found portraiture artistically confining.

In 1910, Maurice moved to California and settled in San Diego. He opened the Fine Art Academy where Maurice offered classes in drawing, design, painting and outdoor sketching. Maurice continued to exhibit on the East Coast where he received favorable reviews for his California Scenes. In 1915 and 1916, he won Gold Medals at both the San Francisco and San Diego World Fairs. Maurice also held one man shows in California and New York.

In California, Maurice became interested in the Theosophical Society. A deeply philosophical man, landscape painting for Maurice was about much more than an image being created. He sought a deeper universal connection and expression. The Society affected his ideas on life, his painting and ultimately, his style.

In 1919, Maurice married Hazel Boyer. The 1920’s proved to be a successful time for the artist. He traveled throughout the United States painting everywhere he went and continued to have one man shows of his work on both coasts and in the Midwest.

The depression saw little change in the artist’s routine, although sales dropped. To augment his loss of income, he taught art at local San Diego Schools and in his studio. Maurice Braun died in 1941 from a heart attack.