Max Hofler was born to an Austrian father and French mother, in London, England, in 1890. Trained as both an architect and painter, he exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts and was a founder of the Wapping Group of Artists and the Harrow Art Society. From 1940, he focused entirely on painting, exhibiting regularly in later life with both local and national groups.
Painter and architect Max Hofler was born in Edmonton, London, in 1890, to an Austrian father and French mother. He was educated at Archbishop Tenison’s Grammar School and John Lyon’s School, Harrow-on-the-Hill, before beginning formal art training at Heatherley’s School of Fine Art in Chelsea, with special permission, aged just fourteen. He later studied at St Martin’s School of Art and, concurrently, trained as an architect under William Henry Romaine Walker. He became an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1922 and a Fellow (FRIBA) in 1933 (Art UK, AHR Net). During this period, Hofler also attended evening classes at the Royal Academy Schools for five years.
Although passionate about painting from a young age, Hofler was compelled by family pressures to pursue architecture professionally. He initially practiced from an office at 68 Cambridge Terrace, Hyde Park, London, before relocating in 1926 to The Hill Studio, 23 Crown Street, Harrow, Middlesex. His architectural work was primarily residential and included additions to Mill House, Wadhurst; Cluny, Leigh-on-Sea; Fox Dell Wood, Chalfont, Buckinghamshire; Long Meadow, Pinner, Middlesex; a lodge in Eastcote, Middlesex; and Woodcote in High Wycombe, as well as commissions in Hungary (AHR Net). In 1938, he designed St Clement’s Court in Leigh-on-Sea, a modernist block of flats reflecting the principles of the Modern Movement (RIBA Ref No RIBA52723). His work was also mentioned in Randal Phillips’ 1928 publication, The £1,000 House. In 1940 Hofler exhibited an architectural drawing at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition (House at Sydenham).
Concentrating primarily on painting from the 1940s, he exhibited a view of Oxford at the Royal Academy in summer 1952; he also showed work at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Society of Marine Artists, and in numerous group shows. His oil paintings—particularly landscapes and portraits—were praised for their sensitive rendering of light, atmosphere, and architectural nuance (Art UK). During the Second World War, Hofler transitioned away from architecture to devote himself fully to painting. A founder member of several local art groups, he played a prominent role in the regional art scene. He was instrumental in founding the Wapping Group of Artists and the Harrow Art Society, and was a founding member and later chairman of the Buckinghamshire Art Society. The Wapping Group began informally in 1939, sketching around the London docklands from the Prospect of Whitby pub in Wapping, East London. Formally established in 1946 with a cap of 25 members, the group focused on plein-air painting along the Thames from April to September, initially exhibiting at the Port of London Authority headquarters and later at the Royal Exchange Galleries. Hofler also belonged to the Langham Sketch Club and continued exhibiting widely in later life. In 1934, his works were described as highlights of the Bucks Art Society’s exhibition at the Albert Institute in Windsor (Buckinghamshire Advertiser, 1934). In 1951, his oil A Showery Day was praised as the standout work in the tradition of Constable, while in 1952, his portrait Jill was admired for its serenity and elegance (Buckinghamshire Examiner, 1951, 1952). As chairman of the Buckinghamshire Art Society in 1956, he exhibited a glowing work titled Autumn at Amersham Town Hall, and one of his three contributions to the Amersham Art Club exhibition that same year was selected for the prestigious Pastels Society Exhibition (Buckinghamshire Advertiser, 1956).
Hofler also worked as a commercial artist. In 1959, he provided a painting for the popular Christmas publication Holly Leaves, alongside artists such as Lionel Edwards (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1959). One of his oils, The Old Town Barnard Castle is noted for its careful execution and atmosphere. Max Hofler died in London, England on 2 July 1962. At the 22nd annual Harrow Art Society exhibition in 1963, his painting Cornfields, Whitchurch, Lancashire was remembered as ‘a sun-drenched little picture with a feeling of distance’ (Harrow Observer, 18 July 1963). In the UK public domain his work is represented in the collection of New College, University of Oxford.