Marian Korn (1914–1987) was a Czechoslovakian printmaker. She was born February 15, 1914, in Chomutov, Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1931, she moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, and in 1931, she graduated from the Women's College of Prague. She married in 1938, and emigrated to the United States in 1939. In 1949, she moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

with her entrepreneur husband Frank and two daughters. In 1970, Korn accompanied one of her daughters to the atelier of Gaston Petit, where the daughter had been taking lessons. The daughter eventually became an art historian specializing in Japanese art, and, at the age of 56, Korn began her printmaking career by making

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s and

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

s. Her honors included a full membership in Shuyōkai (1984) and an associate membership in Kokugakai (1985). She died in Tokyo on February 24, 1987.

Oeuvre

Her first prints were representational, often with Japanese themes. By 1974, some were completely abstract, and by 1982, the majority were abstract. Her ''catalogue raisonné'' lists a total of 206 prints. Although

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, in all its variations, remained Marian Korn's favorite technique, she is known for her mastery of, and combined use of, many different methodologies. During her career, she used, either singly or in combination,

s, collagraphy, photo-etching, paper embossing,

silk-screen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

, sugar lift, the Hayter method (viscosity printing), and

carborundum printmaking Carborundum mezzotint is a printmaking technique in which the image is created by adding light passages to a dark field. It is a relatively new process invented in the US during the 1930s by Hugh Mesibov, Michael J. Gallagher, and Dox Thrash, ...

. ''Infinity'' from 1980, in the collection of the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single co ...

, demonstrates the effect she achieved by combining soft ground etching with silk-screen printing.

Harvard University Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

, the

National Museum of Art of Romania The National Museum of Art of Romania ( ro, Muzeul Național de Artă al României) is located in the Royal Palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest. It features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international ...

(Bucharest, Romania), the

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art. This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-centu ...

, the

Setagaya Art Museum The is an art museum in Yōga, Setagaya, Tokyo. The museum, which opened March 30, 1986, houses a permanent gallery and mounts seasonal exhibitions. Structure The main building of the museum, a contemporary design by architect Shōzō Uchii, ...

(Tokyo), the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art (Haifa, Israel), and the ''Petit Format de Papier'' Collection of the City of Couvin, Belgium, are among the public collections holding prints by Marian Korn.Statler, Oliver, ''The Prints of Marian Korn'', Weatherhill, New York and Tokyo, 1988, p. 201.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korn, Marian Czechoslovak printmakers American printmakers 1914 births 1987 deaths Women printmakers People from Chomutov Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States American expatriates in Japan