In 1922, he ended his business career and moved to Italy to study art with the American painter and sculptor Maurice Sterne.

His landscape paintings, which were influenced by the Chinese works in his collection, were featured in a number of one-person shows with excellent reviews in Paris, New York, and San Francisco.

[citation needed] Despite his acclaim as an artist, Bruce was unable to sell any artwork after the start of the Depression, and returned to a career in business.

He cultivated good relations with Washington officials, and joined the Treasury Department in 1932 as an expert on monetary policy.

[6] In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from the American painter George Biddle, who suggested a New Deal program that would hire artists to paint murals in federal office buildings.

He was given the task of organizing the work-relief project that employed professional artists to create sculptures, paintings, crafts and design for public buildings and parks during the Depression.

[9] Bruce was a prominent landscape painter whose work was shown in leading U.S. galleries and museums and purchased by the government of France.