We were pleased to present this small exhibition of prints by Mr. Lasansky from the Museum’s collection that includes prime examples of the artist’s signature style, composition, and themes – the riveting series of four intaglios For An Eye An Eye I-IV (1946-48); My Daughter Marie Jemina (1959), a sweetly rendered, larger-than-life size print; and two portraits, Self Portrait (1957) and Old Lady with Bonnet (1969).
A native of Argentina, Lasansky was a naturalized American citizen by 1952. He was invited to establish a print workshop at the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History in 1945, which still serves as a model for other university printmaking departments. He is best known for his complex, large-scale prints on which he applied a spectrum of masterful graphic techniques, using multiple plates and full ranges of color. Awarded five Guggenheim Fellowships over his lifetime, as well as numerous honorary degrees and exhibition awards, Lasansky has devoted his career to exploring the expressive possibilities of graphic art; contributing significantly to establishing printmaking as a meaningful and critical art form in the 20th century. Mr. Lasansky retired from the University of Iowa in 1985. He and his wife Emilia raised six children in Iowa City. They live there today and Lasansky continues to create new work in his downtown Iowa City studio.