Erich Sokol (31 March 1933 - 20 February 2003) was an Austrian illustrator and caricaturist.
Life and career
Erich Sokol was born in Vienna and attended the Goethe-Realschule (now Gymnasium Astgasse) in the city's 14th district. Besides his interest in handball, drawing was his passion from an early age. During his high school years he attended courses at the
Akademie der bildenden Künste" in Vienna. In 1952, the young Sokol sold his first drawing to the socialist newspaper ''
Das Kleine Blatt
''Das Kleine Blatt'' (German: ''The Little Paper'') was an Austrian newspaper which was published in Vienna. The paper was affiliated with the Social Democratic Workers' Party, known as the Social Democratic Party. It was started in 1927 and pub ...
'' for a fee of 15 shillings at the time.
In 1952, he graduated from high school and began his studies at the
Hochschule für Welthandel. Parallel to his business studies, drawing remained his true passion, and he also achieved further sales success with it. He produced illustrated jokes and political cartoons for, among others,
Neuer Kurier,
Die Presse
''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria.
History and profile
''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...
,
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
,
Die Bühne,
Wiener Bilderwoche,
Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung,
Arbeiter-Zeitung,
Weltpresse and
Münchner Illustrierte. Drawings by him were also bought and published by the English magazine
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
.
Between 1957 and 1959, Erich Sokol resided in the United States. After receiving a
Moholy-Nagy scholarship, he studied for two semesters at the
Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (courses in visual design, photography, and typography). During this time, he earned his living primarily with graphic work for
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
and The Lion Magazine. It was then that
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...
, founder and publisher of Playboy magazine, became aware of Sokol's talent and recruited him as a regular contributor, which he remained for decades. Sokol worked on a volume of satirical drawings depicting American characters. His "American Natives" was published by Harper & Brothers in New York, and later by Hamish Hamilton in London.
In November 1959, Sokol returned to his native Austria and in 1960 joined the editorial staff of the Social Democratic
Arbiter Zeitung (AZ) as a political cartoonist. From 1965, Sokol was a freelancer for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and resigned from the editorial staff of the Arbeiter-Zeitung in 1967. While working as a political caricaturist in Vienna, he first became known in wide circles in Austria: at that time, the AZ published his "best" caricatures collected in annual volumes.
In 1967, at
Gerd Bacher's invitation, Sokol moved to the newly reformed state broadcaster
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of the ...
as chief graphic designer. He made his debut as director of a television program in 1973. On Saturday, July 12, 1975, Sokol's first cover for the
Neue Kronen-Zeitung (until 1996) was published, and at the same time he discontinued his work for Playboy, for which he had been working for 18 years.
In 1987, Erich Sokol took over the formative post of art director for ORF and was thus responsible for the entire design area (graphics, equipment, costume). In 1992, Sokol was prematurely retired as Art Director of ORF in the course of an ORF relaunch.
From 1999 on, his cover pictures appeared for
Die Presse
''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria.
History and profile
''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...
, and at the end of the 1990s he founded the Erich Sokol Private Foundation in Mödling with his partner Annemarie Höld-Praschl.
Well-known creations of Sokol's were the "
ÖVP
The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...
-Tant'" in the Arbeiter-Zeitung, the ORF-Auge (ORF Eye) logo for the state broadcaster, and his caricatures of
Bruno Kreisky
Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest Ch ...
, the Social Democrat who served as Federal Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Sokol's front pages for the
Kronen-Zeitung, the monthly business magazine trend and the news magazine profile were characterized by their complexity and subtle humor. Sokol also designed the record cover for ''
Der Herr Karl'' by
Carl Merz and
Helmut Qualtinger
Helmut Qualtinger (; 8 October 1928 – 29 September 1986; alt. sp.: ''Helmuth Qualtinger''; birthname: ''Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qualtinger'') was an actor, writer, reciter and cabaret performer.
Biography
He was born Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qu ...
as well as the logo of the catering company Do & Co. Sokol belonged to the "
Gutruf clique" around Qualtinger, Sokol's friend
Teddy Podgorski and others, active from the 1950s on.
[ORF-Kulturmontag, Porträt in ''art.genossen'': ''Gnadenlos genial - Der Karikaturist Erich Sokol'', 12. April 2010. Programmbeschreibung]
tv.orf.at
/ref>
He also had a long friendship with the actor Felix Dvorak
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province AlmerÃa, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
. He created a portrait of Dvorak for his album "k.u.k.. Scharfrichter Lang", he designed the stage set and poster for "Olympia" at the Mödlinger Komödienspiele in 1995 and staged the TV show "Felix Felix" designed for Montreux.
Personal life
Erich Sokol was married to Adriana Gaspar from 1961 to 1993, and they had three children. In 1995 Erich Sokol met Annemarie Höld-Praschl, and in 2001 he married his long-time partner. Since his death in 2003, his widow Annemarie Sokol has administered his artistic work, the Erich Sokol Private Foundation in Mödling.
Death
Sokol died in the night of Thursday, February 20, 2003, at his home in Mödling
Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna.
Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...
. He is buried in an honorary grave dedicated by the City of Vienna in the "Ehrenhain" (Group 40, Number 88) of the Vienna Central Cemetery.
The Caricature Museum in Krems ( Karikaturmuseum Kreis) awards since 2018 the Erich Sokol Prize for Digital Caricature and Satire.
Honors
Erich Sokol received numerous honors for his artistic work, including:
*The " Artists' Guild of Chicago" prize for "Editorial Art" on the occasion of the "Editorial and Advertising Art" exhibition held at the Chicago Library (1959)
*The " Golden Camera" by "Hörzu
''Hörzu'' () is a German language, German weekly television listings magazine published in Hamburg.
History and profile
''Hörzu'' first appeared in 1946 and was published by Axel Springer AG, Axel Springer as the first radio program magazine t ...
" (1971)
*The State Prize for Advertising of the Federal Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry for his campaign for Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
(1972)
*In 1977, the City of Vienna awarded him the Prize for Applied Art and in 1982 the Golden Decoration of Honor of the City of Vienna. Â Â
*In 1986 Erich Sokol received the Nestroy Ring
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and ...
and in 1997 the Medal of Honor for Services to Art and Culture in the City of Mödling.  Â
*The Olaf Gulbransson Prize (2001). Â Â
*In 2002 Erich Sokol was announced the title of professor, but the awarding took place posthumously on his 70th birthday.
In 2014, the Prof. Erich Sokol-Promenade was named after him in Mödling, and in 2016, the Erich-Sokol-Gasse was named after him in the 10th district of Favoriten
Favoriten (; Central Bavarian: ''Favoritn''), the 10th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 10. Bezirk, Favoriten), is located south of the central districts. It is south of Innere Stadt, Wieden and Margareten. Favoriten is a heavily populat ...
in Vienna.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokol, Erich
1933 births
2003 deaths
Austrian caricaturists
Austrian illustrators
Artists from Vienna
Playboy cartoonists