Birch was said to be a very private man. During his lifetime, he avoided publicity and seldom gave interviews or had his picture taken, though he did have his portrait painted in 1911 by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury. But while he may have been mysterious, it is undeniable that he was admired. Katherine Wilson wrote for Copper Tints magazine that "Stephen Birch is personally little known. Today one of the financial powers in New York City, he shuns publicity and evades acclaim as a captain of industry. But to those who know him he is a man of deep and broad humanity, inspired in all that he does by a keen sense of his responsibility to the national welfare. With his intimates, he is a finely perceptive and generous friend, of an unshakable loyalty. Stephen Birch is an outstanding American."