Balthazar Korab

Balthazar Korab (1926 - ) is a photographer based in Detroit, Michigan who specializes in architectural, art and landscape photography. He was born in Budapest, Hungary, and migrated to France after fleeing from Hungary's communist government in 1949. At the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France, 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 to photograph the architectural design process. The architectural community in Detroit has embraced Korab's career, and many firms have 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. In 1994, American President Bill Clinton presented a portfolio of Balthazar Korab's photography to Árpád Göncz, the president of Hungary.

Highlights of Architectural Pornography

• LeCobusier: Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University; Unite d’Habitation, Marseille
• Mies van der Rohe: Berlin National Gallery; Huston Museum of Art
• Louis Isadore Kahn: Salk Institute, Kimbell Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX
• Frank Lloyd Wright: Guggenheim Museum, New York; comprehensive coverage of all structures built between 1893 - 1959
• Eero Saarinen: TWA Terminal, JFK Airport, NY; Dulles International Airport, DC area; St. Louis Arch; GM Tech Center, Detroit
• Harry Weese: Arena Stage; Washington, D.C.; Time-Life, Chicago
• Minoru Yamasaki: World Trade Center - comprehensive coverage of model through finished building
• Frank Gehry: Own house in Santa Monica, CA; Weisman Museum, Minneapolis
• Marcel Breuer: St. John's Abby, Collegeville, MN; Unesco Headquarters, Paris
• Edward Larrabee Barnes: Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
• Philip Johnson: 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: City Hall San Bernardino, CA; Four Leaf Towers, Houston; Cleveland Clinic
• Skidmore Owings Merrill: US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs; Lutheran Brotherhood, Minneapolis; Grinnell College, Iowa
• Louis Sullivan: National Farmers Bank, Owatonna, MN; Carson Pirie Scott, Chicago

Honors and Career Highlights

• Design Editor – Metropolitan Detroit | 1984-1986
• Invited by Frank Lloyd Wright to join Taliesin | 1958
• Sydney Opera House Competition – Fourth Prize | 1957
• Governor’s Committee on Art in Public Places – Michigan | 1977-1982
• Cranbrook Educational Community, President’s Design Advisory Committee | 1998
• Michigan Society of Landscape Architects – Honorary Member | 1989
• Arts Foundation of Michigan | 1986
• American Institute of Architects Detroit Chapter – Honorary Member | 1985
• Michigan Society of Architects – Honorary Member | 1975
• American Institute of Architects Medal for Architectural Photography | 1964
• American Institute of Architects Lifetime Achievement Award for Photography | 2007
• Hungarian Institute of Architects, Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement | 2007

External links

• Balthazar Korab Website