Bischoff was the only son of Ferdinand Henry Bischoff, an artist and engraver, who, as a member of the Royal Academy in London, exhibited many works between the years 1823-49. His father, in turn, F. Henry Bischoff, a Hanoverian, was Royal Oculist to His Majesty King George III, and author of A Treatise on the Extraction of the Cataract, published in 1793.
Charles Ferdinand was admitted to the Royal Academy School on 12th December, 1840. He became a professional portrait and miniature painter, working first in Ipswich and then in London. In 1854 he married a Miss Eleanor Cann and, deciding to emigrate, the couple sailed in 1855 in the 'Merchantman', being fellow passengers of Governor Gore Browne.
In the interval before going farming he lived and worked in Auckland. In a directory of the time, Bischoff, portrait painter, is listed as living in Wakefield Street. He is the only professional painter listed in the publication.
12 Self Portrait
Oil. 30 x 25.
No signature or date, but known to have been
painted before 1870.
Lent by Miss O. Bischoff.
13 Thomas Paton
Pastel. 24¼ x 21½
Signed and dated 'C.F. Bischoff 1855' lower right.
Lent by Mrs C.C. Watt.
Thomas Paton is said to have come to New Zealand some time in the eighteen-forties to take up a position on the staff of the then Governor. He took up farmland instead, in what is now Balmoral Road, and farmed there until he died.
Amongst the sources listed in the catalogue are
Unpublished papers of the Bischoff and Martin families.
The Queen's Palace, January 7.
The Queen has also been pleased to appoint Mr. Frederick. Bischoff to be Oculist to Her Majesty.
So far, no corresponding announcement has been found regarding the appointment of an oculist to King George III.
Elsewhere it is stated that Thomas Paton (1815-1901) was a notable early Auckland settler. Paton was an avid land speculator, and amassed significant land holdings in the Auckland area.