Korab was born in Budapest, Hungary, and migrated to France after fleeing from Hungary's communist government in 1949. At the École des beaux-arts in Paris, 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.
In 1955, Korab arrived in the United States, and Eero Saarinen employed him as an architect, where his skill with a camera lead to him becoming responsible for the integration of photography into the architectural design process.[1] 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. Korab documented the 1966 flood of the Arno in Florence, Italy.[2]
In 1994, American President Bill Clinton presented a portfolio of Balthazar Korab's photography to Árpád Göncz, 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.[3]
2007 American Institute of Architects Lifetime Achievement Award for Photography; Hungarian Institute of Architects, Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement
Bibliography
Books and articles featuring Korab's pictures.
Comazzi, John, Balthazar Korab: Architect of Photography, Princetown Architectural Press, New York, 2012
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
Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher, AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2003
References
^Korab, Balthazar; Comazzi, John (2012). Balthazar Korab: architect of photography (1st ed.). New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 26. ISBN978-1-61689-196-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
