Kazys Morkūnas (c. 1925 – 2014) was a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist. He is considered a master of the form. He was a student of Stasys Ušinskas and along with fellow pupil Algimantas Stoskus they began creating new methods that incorporated thick panels of glass which have been adopted by other artists. His 1960 work ''Morning'' incorporated a special mirror glass and was the first stained glass work to incorporate a nude from folklore. His work was part of the Soviet Pavilions at both the

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

and

Expo 70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

. He created miniature stained glass replicas of the Lithuanian coat of arms (''vytis'') as souvenirs which were sold after re-establishment of independence in 1990. He created the large pieces '' Šventė'' (''Feast'') (1980s) and ''Žalgirio mūšis'' (''The Battle of Grunwald'') (2010s) that adorn buildings in the Lithuanian Parliamentary complex. In 1985, Morkunas was awarded the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

. In 2000, he was awarded the 4th Grade

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

by the Lithuanian President,

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamku ...

. He died in January 2014 at the age of 88 and was buried at Antakalnio cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morkunas, Kazys 1920s births 2014 deaths Lithuanian stained glass artists and manufacturers