Jane Schwarz collection of André Girard materials

André Girard, born in 1901 in Chinon, France, was orphaned in 1915. He then entered the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (National School of Decorative Arts) and, in 1916, the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts). Fleeing bombings during the First World War, in 1918 his family took refuge in Saumur with his grandparents. It was there that Girard met the painter Georges Rouault, becoming his student and friend. Girard was also enrolled in Pierre Bonnard's studio.

Released from his military obligations in 1923, he then worked as a painter, caricaturist, theater set designer, and advertising poster artist. In 1925, he won the poster competition of the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts. He created, among other things, advertising posters for Duco (1928-29), Peugeot (1930), Mercier Frères (1930), Gitanes cigarettes (1930), Marconi (1935), Dubonnet, The Capehart, and Shell. In the 1930s, he was one of the most fashionable poster artists in Paris.

Girard married Andrée Jouan on April 5, 1924, in Asnières-sur-Seine and settled in Levallois-Perret, where his first two daughters, Évie (who would later marry pianist Jean Casadesus) and Gabrielle, known as Danièle (who would become an actress under the name Danièle Delorme), were born. Later, he moved to Neuilly. Girard also began a long collaboration with Columbia Records, illustrating numerous record covers and designing their logo. He also worked as a screenwriter and actor in early sound films, notably co-writing the screenplay for La Chienne (1931) with Jean Renoir.

From the moment Hitler came to power in Germany, Girard began to publish political cartoons in publications including Les Échos, Paris-Midi, Paris-Soir, Match, Marianne, and Le Rire. In late 1940, he and a friend founded the CARTE Network (an anti-German, anti-Gaullist, anti-communist, and anti-collaborationist Resistance network). He left for the United States in 1943. Girard taught art at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland from 1948-1952, serving as a mentor to students and supporting the work of art professor Sister Noreen Gormley. He later taught at Queensborough Community College in Queens, New York.

In 1950 Girard began to employ a technique he called "light painting"--painting directly onto film, using a process invented by Norman McLaren in the 1930s. His films were shown on national television and in local screenings. In 1952, he worked with churches in New York, Vermont, and California, painting stained-glass windows or installing large murals. Girard died in Nyack, New York, in 1968.

Biography adapted from rare book seller Librairie L'amour qui bouquine.

Jane Imbach Schwarz was an artist and teacher who was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1927. She graduated from All Saints School, Mount St. Agnes High School, and, in 1949, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She studied under the French painter André Girard at Notre Dame, and was mentored by him until his death in 1968. In 1965 she received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She taught as a faculty member at Anne Arundel Community College for 15 years. Schwarz was a prolific artist working in a variety of media, including oil, watercolor, drawing, engraving, and liturgical wall hangings. Her works often captured the beauty of the natural world.

Schwarz and her husband of 43 years, William H. Schwarz, had four sons. Jane Imbach Schwarz died on November 20, 1993, at age 66.

Sourcees: Schwarz, W. Harry, blog post "I Am My Mother’s Oldest Son – The Art of Jane I. Schwarz," https://hocomd.cc/2016/06/09/i-am-my-mothers-oldest-son-the-art-of-jane-i-schwarz/.

"Jane I. Schwarz: Artist and teacher," Baltimore Sun, 1993 November 24.