Bernard Badura, Untitled (Lambertville Quarry)

Angular volumes of rock and geometric industrial elements contrast with the soft swirls of trees and natural forms in this sensitive rendering of the Lambertville Quarry. A rhythmic application of charcoal marks, deep shadows, and areas of brilliant luminosity frame the massive landform of the quarry. Alike in concept, a painting of Badura’s, depicting the nearby Raven Rock Quarry, is also in Woodmere’s collection.Badura is known for the highly prized hand-carved and hand-gilded picture frames that he sold from his shop in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He also made stained-glass windows, and was commissioned to make windows for churches across Pennsylvania.

Badura first studied at the Milwaukee State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin). He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War I, where his drawing skills led to an assignment in Paris in the army's drafting and designing department. Upon returning to the United States, Badura attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and there studied with Arthur B. Carles and Daniel Garber. It was there also that he met his wife, artist Faye Swengel, another of Carles's students. In 1937, he and Swengel moved to New Hope, where they would paint and work together for the rest of their lives. Badura's work is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley, among other important public and private collections.