Mauricio Lasansky
| Mauricio Lasansky | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mauricio Lasansky October 12, 1914 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | April 2, 2012 (aged 97) Iowa City, Iowa |
| Known for | Printmaking and Drawing |
| Notable work | The Nazi Drawings |
| Movement | American modernism |
| Awards | Five Guggenheim Fellowship (1943, 1944, 1945, 1953, 1964) |
Mauricio Leib Lasansky (October 12, 1914 – April 2, 2012) was an Argentine artist and educator known both for his advanced techniques in intaglio printmaking and for a series of 33 pencil drawings from the 1960s titled "The Nazi Drawings." Lasansky, who migrated to and became a citizen of the United States, established the school of printmaking at the University of Iowa, which offered the first Master of Fine Arts program in the field in the United States. Sotheby's identifies him as one of the fathers of modern printmaking.
The son of Eastern European Jews, Lasansky was born on 12 October 1914 in Buenos Aires. He studied printmaking and engraving from his Polish father, who had made a living in those fields. He displayed early promise, showing favorably at the Mutulidad Fine Arts Exhibition with an honorable mention at 16 and a prize at 17 for sculpture. He entered the Superior School of Fine Arts in his hometown in 1933. Three years later, Lasansky began his career as director of the Free Fine Arts School in Villa María, Argentina. Through school and the decade he held this directorship, he exhibited extensively, culminating in a solo retrospective exhibition at the Galleria Muller in Buenos Aires in 1943.
Lasansky relocated to New York City in 1943 on the first of five Guggenheim Fellowships and chose to remain in and become a citizen of the United States for political reasons in spite of a lack of financial resources and challenges with the English language. In 1945, he took his first position at the University of Iowa, as a visiting lecturer for graphic arts. Within three years, he would become a full professor and ultimately would establish its school of printmaking, offering the first Master of Fine Arts program in the field in the United States. In the 1960s, Time magazine dubbed him "the nation's most influential printmaker." He remained with the program until his retirement in 1984, whereafter he continued as a practicing artist.Susan Hale Kemenyffy was among his pupils.
Lasansky wed in 1937, bringing his family with him to the United States at the time of his second Guggenheim Fellowship, in 1944. His wife predeceased him in 2009. They had six children, including son Tomas, who followed his father into art.
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