John William Orth (1889-1976)
Orth died in Santa Anna 1976, and he was one of the last in that area to paint in the style of the Old Masters. Late in his life, he adopted a Gothic style. His forte was portraiture of well-known persons that included Winston Churchill, Charles Laughton, and Albert Einstein. He was originally from Bavaria and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He and his wife Didi led very interesting lives, and she served as the model for most of his figure paintings. Orth studied at the Nuremberg College of Fine Arts in Bavaria; the Julian Academy in Paris, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
Information courtesy of Charlton Hall Auctions