Émile Auguste Ouchard

Émile-Auguste Ouchard (1900—1969) was a renowned French archetier (maker of bows) from Mirecourt, son of Émile François Ouchard (1872–1951) and father of Bernard Ouchard (b.1925) and Jean Claude Ouchard (b.1935), both archetiers. Ouchard began apprenticing with his father around 1913 at the Eugène Cuniot-Hury's atelier in Mirecourt. (Ouchard père himself studied there, and after Eugène's death in 1910, took over the workshop). In 1923, É-F. Ouchard established an independent workshop, where Émile-Auguste continued to assist his father. The atelier prospered, employing 15 assistants by 1936. Émile-Auguste, who kept maturing in his oeuvre, took over the following year, but as Ouchard père struggled to give up control, he decided to quit. (E.F. Ouchard ended up running the Mirecourt shop until his death). Around 1940, Émile-Auguste Ouchard established his workshop in Paris. With increasingly thicker and "stronger" heads, his bows had a perfect balance of flexibility and rigidity for producing 'staccato' or 'cantabile' sound. Ouchard reached significant recognition in the competitive Parisian market. Ouchard relocated to the United States in 1946, working independently in New York before joining William Lewis & Son firm in Chicago two years later. Émile-Auguste re-established independent production in New York City, working there from 1951 till 1960. Shortly after returning to Paris, Ouchard suffered a stroke; he continued to work, eventually, but never fully recovered to the impeccable craftsmanship of his "golden years." Émile-Auguste Ouchard passed away in Gan, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.