Elmer Bischoff, considered the dean of Bay Area painters, died Saturday after a year`s bout with cancer. He was 74.
A member of the Bay Area Figurative School, along with David Park, James Weeks and Richard Diebenkorn, Mr. Bischoff had evolved in recent years into an abstractionist of international repute.
”He was a brilliant painter,” said gallery owner John Berggruen, who has one of Mr. Bischoff`s energy-filled abstract works in his office.
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”Elmer was a great gentleman, and he had a great soul. He was always very optimistic and vibrant. Beginning around 1971, he began exploring the possibilities of pure abstraction, using very bold colors.”
Mr. Bischoff received his bachelor and master`s degrees from the University of California, and he taught at the San Francisco Art Institute and University of California at Berkeley for many years.
He was a member of the American Institute of Arts and Letters.
Mr. Bischoff was devoted to his motorcycle and played jazz piano.
Added artist friend Sidney Gordin: ”He loved Dixieland music.”