Emil Kosa Jr. (November 28, 1903 – November 4, 1968) was an American artist of Czech origin. He was the art director of

20th Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros. Financial backing came from Schenck ...

's special effects department for more than three decades, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects along the way. As a painter of landscapes and urban scenes, he also became known as a prominent member of the

California Scene Painting California Scene Painting, also known as Southern California Regionalism, is a form of American regionalist art depicting landscapes, places, and people of California. It flourished from the 1920s to the 1960s. History Early 20th century Californ ...

movement.

Family and education

Emil Kosa Jr. was born in Paris, France. His parents were Emil Kosa Sr., Czech artist, and Jeanne Mares Kosa, a French pianist for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. After his mother died at the age of three, his father married a Czech wife and in 1908, his family moved temporarily to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, Massachusetts, where his father worked with Alphonse Mucha. Four years later, the family returned to Czechoslovakia where he attended the primary and secondary school during and after the World War I. After World War I ended, Kosa Jr. trained in art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague. After a mere three semesters, he moved to the United States in January 1921, rejoining his family (which had preceded him in emigrating to the United States). He took art courses at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. In 1927, he became a naturalized American citizen. He spent the following year in Paris, studying at the École des Beaux Arts and with Pierre Laurens and

Frank Kupka Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, and returned to California in 1928.

Career

Early in his career, Kosa Jr. worked as a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

painter and designer for various architects and interior decoration firms. He also ran a business with his father producing decorative art objects for churches and auditoriums. As a painter, Kosa Jr. was stylistically affiliated with the movement that became known as

. He painted mainly California landscapes and urban settings in both oil and watercolor, and he also produced commissioned portraits of celebrities, businessmen, and politicians. His work was widely exhibited starting in the 1930s, with solo shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and elsewhere. In 1933, he joined the newly formed special effects department at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

(later

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

). He was quickly promoted to

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

, a position he held for the next 35 years. In 1964, he became the first person to win the Best Visual Effects after the Academy Awards changed the name from Special Effects. He won at the

36th Academy Awards The 36th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963, were held on April 13, 1964, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Jack Lemmon. Best Picture winner '' Tom Jones'' became the only f ...

for his work on the film ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

''. He also helped to create the first logo for

(later

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, later

Personal life

Kosa Jr. was married twice: in 1928 to Mary Odisho (d. 1951) and in 1952 to dancer Elizabeth Twaddel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosa, Emil Jr. Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Special effects people 1903 births 1968 deaths French emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters American male painters Articles containing video clips