Early life

Born in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Marchand studied under Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin

François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...

. In the early 1900s, he and his wife Clothilde, also an artist, emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Marchand began working as a diorama artist at the New York State Museum

New York State Museum

The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol...

. His work on the Museum's Iriquois Dioramas, dedicated in 1918, earned him recognition.

In 1925, Marchand and his family moved to Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, where he and his sons Paul and George were to construct dioramas for the Buffalo Museum of Science

Buffalo Museum of Science

Buffalo Museum of Science is a science museum located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York USA, northeast of the downtown district, near the Kensington Expressway. The historic building was designed by August Esenwein and James A. Johnson and opened in 1929...

. Though much of the work the Marchands created there is no longer on display, some still can be seen, particularly in the Museum's Hall of Wildflowers.

Scandal

Tragedy fell upon the family in 1930, when Marchand's wife Clothilde was murdered by a Seneca

Seneca nation

The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...

 woman named Nancy Bowen, who had been influenced by a younger woman in her tribe who was intimately involved with Marchand. This younger woman, Lila Jimerson, was one of Marchand's models for the exhibits he was working on at the time.

During the very public trial, it was revealed that Marchand had had numerous affairs, many with native women. Marchand testified that this behavior was a "professional necessity," since his diorama work required him to sculpt bare-chested women. He also said during the trial that his wife Clothilde had known about and accepted his lifestyle, statements viewed as arrogant by numerous members of the court and the press.

Legacy

Though Marchand left the Buffalo Science Museum position following his wife's death, he continued to construct dioramas through the Marchand Diorama Corporation and had several workers under him. For instance, in the early 1930s, he donated a diorama to the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840...

 that depicted the beginnings of their congregation; he sent one of his artists, Gregory Kamka, to finish eleven other dioramas for them.

Marchand's sons Paul and George Marchand became well-known in the field of museum dioramas themselves. Amongst themselves, the family created works for places including Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

's Field Museum of Natural History

Field Museum of Natural History

The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...

, the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

 and the American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...

.