Florence Riefle Bahr

A prolific and professional artist, Florence Elizabeth Riefle Bahr portrayed significant events in Maryland and national political history during the 20th century.

Bahr, the eldest daughter born to James and Florence Shafe Riefle, was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Bahr graduated with top honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 1931. In a family of musicians, who considered the Peabody Conservatory and the Lyric as their adopted homes, she was the only visual artist, and she was determined to succeed at it. In 1935, she was invited to exhibit her works at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and, by 1937, Bahr won the first of several awards for her works exhibited there. She was accepted as a member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, and one of her oil portraits, “Lily,” was exhibited at the Association's annual show in New York.

Often saying that she would rather paint than eat, Bahr was seldom without her sketchbook, using it to record thousands of images. Her sketches of civil rights and peace marches and demonstrations, as well as the trials of the Catonsville Nine and Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel, are lively and colorful portrayals of meaningful events in American life. Her dismay at the riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., drove her back to her studio where she poured her emotions into one of her most remarkable works, the powerful “Homage to Martin Luther King”. Shortly before her death, she donated this work to the NAACP to be hung in its national headquarters in Baltimore.

Bahr supported civil rights for all citizens before it was acceptable to do so in the Baltimore area. She was active in, and often used her artistic talents to support, many groups working for women’s rights, peace, education, better health and housing conditions for low-income families, and improvements of conditions for prisoners. In the mid-1950s, Bahr attended Koinonia, a Christian-based fellowship, and was active in multinational groups praying for reconciliation between people. During the turbulent 1960s, Bahr joined hundreds of other citizens, much younger than her children, in protests against the Vietnam War and was arrested during one protest at the Pentagon. She was also active with groups advocating for the welfare of prisoners, both at home and in Central and Latin America.

A mother of three, she adored children; she not only assisted with several Baltimore City breakfast programs for low-income children, but she relentlessly wrote letters and made phone calls to elected officials on every level as a passionate advocate for children around the world. Bahr believed in our political system and encouraged others to get involved to make Maryland and the world a better place.

Bahr exemplified the value of lifelong learning. In 1967, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking at MICA, representing the desire many women had to seek higher education and further training. She never stopped striving for excellence in her work.

A doll collector all her life, she owned a museum, Humpty Dumpty Doll Museum, in Ellicott City, Maryland, and enjoyed educating visitors about the role of dolls in portraying social and cultural history.

At the age of 87, she was honored with a retrospective exhibit of her work in the Peabody’s Galleria Piccola. At this exhibit, her family and friends saw many of her works, including her watercolors and sketches, for the first time. Regarding her work as a state treasure, the Maryland State Archives has preserved and cataloged for future generations between 300 and 400 of her sketches and paintings, which depict moments from 1957-1992. The Archives’ staff was instrumental in salvaging many more of Bahr’s work from the disastrous fire in her home and studio that claimed her life at age 88.

Bahr married Leonard Marion Bahr, a fellow student from MICA and a well-known artist in his own right, in 1934. They had three children together, Beth, Leonard Jr., and Mary.

Bahr could be described as a “Renaissance woman,” with diverse interests and expertise in several areas; prolific artist, feminist, environmentalist, activist, and role model for future female leaders.

"But isn't this the most marvelous age of all to be in -- its golden opportunities! May we be given the insight to make the most of what we have available to all." - In a letter (January 6, 1962) to her sister, Jane.

Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women, 1999; and updated 2023.