biography of Ilonka KARASZ (1896-1981)

Birth place: Budapest, Hungary.

Addresses: Immigrated to NYC c. 1915; Brewster, NY

Profession: Designer, illustrator, painter, teacher

Studied: Royal Sch. Arts & Crafts, Budapest

Exhibited: S. Indp. A., 1920-22, 1936; Galerie de Braux, NYC, 1954 (her New Yorker covers); Fifty-50 Gal., NYC, 1984; The Machine Age in America," Brooklyn Mus., 1987"

Member: Woodstock AA

Work: Woodstock AA; MMA

Comments: Pioneering modernist designer whose work included furniture, tea sets, dishes (some for Buffalo Pottery), geometric textiles, wallpapers, lighting, tiles, toys, theater and ballet set designs. Karasz designed over 186 covers for the New Yorker magazine, beginning in 1925. Her work was reproduced in Paul Frankl's Form and Reform (1930.

Sources: WW40; Rubinstein, American Women Sculptors, 257; addit. info. courtesy Woodstock AA