Charles Rohrbach

Charles Rohrbach arrived in the United States in 1915, moved to Buffalo in 1916, and settled in East Aurora, New York, in 1923. While he privately painted landscapes, Rohrbach worked as a commercial artist at the Larkin Soap Company. He later succeeded Alex Levy as art director from 1922 until 1943. He was a close friend of Levy’s, and they often painted together in East Aurora. Their landscapes from the 1930s are very similar. Rohrbach later joined the Rotogravure Department of The Courier-Express, then became art director of The Roizen Advertising Agency in 1946. In 1950 he moved to the Addison F. Busch, Inc. advertising agency.

Rohrbach was a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists from 1925-1944 and was one of the original members of the Paint and Varnish Club, later known as the East Aurora Society of Artists. He is listed in William J. Barney’s catalog, The Art & Artists of Buffalo, published by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society in 1979. One of his landscapes was included in the 1987 exhibition, The Wayward Muse: A Historical Survey of Painting in Buffalo, organized by Susan Krane for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.