Balthazar Korab ( hu, Koráb Boldizsár; 1926–2013) was a Hungarian-American photographer based in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, specializing in

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

, art and

landscape photography Landscape photography shows the spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes ...

Biography

Korab was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary, and migrated to France after fleeing from Hungary's

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

government in 1949. At the

École des beaux-arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he completed a diploma of architecture in 1954. For a time, he was a journeyman under the direction of leading European architects, including

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. In 1955, Korab arrived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

employed him to photograph the architectural design process. The architectural community in Detroit embraced Korab's career, and many firms retained him to document their building and private home projects. In 1956 he was awarded fourth place in the international design competition for the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. Korab documented the

1966 flood of the Arno The 1966 flood of the Arno ( it, Alluvione di Firenze del 4 novembre 1966) in Florence killed 101 people and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books. It is considered the worst flood in the city's history since 1557. Wi ...

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. In 1994, American President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

presented a portfolio of Balthazar Korab's photography to

Árpád Göncz Árpád Göncz (; 10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, agronomist, and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution ...

, the president of Hungary. Korab died on January 15, 2013, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife Monica and two children, Christian and Alexandra. Today, Korab's collection is held at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Highlights of architectural photography

: Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University; Unité d’Habitation, Marseille *

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

Berlin National Gallery The National Gallery (german: Nationalgalerie) in Berlin, Germany, is a museum for art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It is part of the Berlin State Museums. From the Alte Nationalgalerie, which was built for it and opened in 1876, its exh ...

;

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

Louis Isadore Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA; Kimbell Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX *

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

Guggenheim Museum, New York The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

; comprehensive coverage of all structures built between 1893 - 1959 *

: TWA Terminal, JFK Airport, NY; Dulles International Airport, Washington Metropolitan Area;

St. Louis Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources consider i ...

; GM Technical Center, Detroit *

Harry Weese Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an American architect who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, is also a renowned architect. Early life and education Harry ...

: Arena Stage, Washington D.C.; Time-Life Building, Chicago *

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward D ...

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

North Tower and South Tower - comprehensive coverage of model through finished building *

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

: Own house in Santa Monica, CA; Weisman Museum, Minneapolis *

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most im ...

Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville Saint John's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville Township, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation. The abbey was established following the arrival in the area of monks from Saint Vincent Archab ...

, Minnesota; Unesco Headquarters, Paris *

Edward Larrabee Barnes Edward Larrabee Barnes (April 22, 1915 – September 22, 2004) was an American architect. His work was characterized by the "fusing fModernism with vernacular architecture and understated design." Barnes was best known for his adherence to ...

: Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis;

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

, Minneapolis *

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...

: Transco Tower, Houston; Detroit One Center; Glass House, New Canaan, CT * I M Pei: Dallas City Hall, National Gallery East Wing, Washington, D.C.; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland *

Cesar Pelli Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

: City Hall San Bernardino, CA;

Four Leaf Towers Four Leaf Towers is a high-rise residential complex located in Houston, Texas, United States, on San Felipe Street adjacent to the Uptown Houston district. They were designed by architect Cesar Pelli. Description and history Designed by archite ...

, Houston; Cleveland Clinic *

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

: US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs; Lutheran Brotherhood, Minneapolis; Grinnell College, Iowa *

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

: National Farmers Bank, Owatonna, MN; Carson Pirie Scott, Chicago

Honors and career highlights

* 1957

Competition – Fourth Prize * 1958 Invited by Frank Lloyd Wright to join

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

* 1964

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

Medal for Architectural Photography * 1975 Michigan Society of Architects – Honorary Member * 1977-1982 Governor’s Committee on Art in Public Places – Michigan * 1984-1986 Design Editor –

Metropolitan Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

* 1985

Detroit Chapter – Honorary Member * 1986 Arts Foundation of Michigan * 1989 Michigan Society of Landscape Architects – Honorary Member * 1998

Cranbrook Educational Community The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cr ...

, President’s Design Advisory Committee * 2007 American Institute of Architects Lifetime Achievement Award for Photography; Hungarian Institute of Architects, Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement

Bibliography

:Books and articles featuring Korabs pictures. * Ferry, W. Hawkins, ''The Buildings of Detroit; A History'', Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1968 * Hogg, Victor and Balthazar Korab, ''Legacy of the River Raisin: The Historic Buildings of Monroe County, Michigan,'' The Monroe County Historical Society, Monroe, Michigan, 1976. * Schmitt, Peter and Balthazar Korab, ''Kalamazoo: Nineteenth-century Homes in a Midwestern Village,'' Kalamazoo City Historical Commission, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1976 * Hendry, L Fay, ''Outdoor Sculpture in Grand Rapids'', iota Press, Okemos, Michigan, 1980 * Hendry, L Fay, ''Outdoor Sculpture in Kalamazoo'', iota Press, Okemos, Michigan, 1980 * Hendry, L Fay, ''Outdoor Sculpture in Lansing'', iota Press, Okemos, Michigan, 1980 * ''New Deal, Government Architecture, Murals & Sculpture of the 1930s & 1940s: A Walking Tour of East Lansing & Lansing'', photographs from the Balthazar Korab Collection ca. 1986 * Farbman, Suzy and James P Gallagher, ''The Renaissance of the Wayne County Building'', Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates, Inc., The Old Wayne County Building Limited Partnership, Walbridge Aldinger Company, Detroit, Michigan 1989 * Eckert, Kathryn Bishop, ''Buildings of Michigan'', Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 * Eckert, Kathryn Bishop, ''Cranbrook: The Campus Guide'', Princeton Architectural Press, NY, 2001 * Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher, ''AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture'', Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2003

References

External links

Korab Image

Korab photograph archive
at the Library of Congress
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korab, Balthazar American photographers Hungarian emigrants to the United States 1926 births 2013 deaths American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Hungarian expatriates in France Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal