Louis Kahan
Encyclopedia
Louis Kahan AO was an Austria
n-born Australia
n artist
who won the Archibald Prize
in 1962 with a portrait of Patrick White
.
in 1905. He travelled from Vienna to Paris
when he was 20. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion
in 1939 and was sent to North Africa
as a war artist
, although he had never received any formal art training. He had an exhibition at Oran
in 1942. He was a voluntary artist for the Red Cross between 1943 and 1945. During this time, photography was not permitted of soldiers, so his paintings were some of the only record at the time and were sometimes sent back to families for reassurance. He returned to Paris after the war, and then travelled across the United States
before he arrived in Perth
. He moved to Melbourne
in 1950.
He made many portraits of Australian and other celebrities, including Geoffrey Blainey
, Judy Cassab
, Manning Clark
, Arthur Boyd
, Dame Joan Sutherland
, Yehudi Menuhin
and Luciano Pavarotti
.
In 1993 Louis Kahan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
for service to the arts.
He died in 2002, aged 97.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who won the Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
in 1962 with a portrait of Patrick White
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
.
Biography
Louis Kahan was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1905. He travelled from Vienna to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
when he was 20. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
in 1939 and was sent to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
as a war artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
, although he had never received any formal art training. He had an exhibition at Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
in 1942. He was a voluntary artist for the Red Cross between 1943 and 1945. During this time, photography was not permitted of soldiers, so his paintings were some of the only record at the time and were sometimes sent back to families for reassurance. He returned to Paris after the war, and then travelled across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before he arrived in Perth
Dianella, Western Australia
Dianella is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.Dianella was named after the botanical title of a small blue lily, Dianella revoluta, which is a narrow-leafed plant which was plentiful in the area prior to residential development. Dianella is home...
. He moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1950.
He made many portraits of Australian and other celebrities, including Geoffrey Blainey
Geoffrey Blainey
Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC , is a prominent Australian historian.Blainey was born in Melbourne and raised in a series of Victorian country towns before attending Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. While at university he was editor of Farrago, the newspaper of the University of...
, Judy Cassab
Judy Cassab
Judy Cassab CBE AO is an Australian painter. She has twice won the Archibald Prize.Judy Cassab was born Judit Kaszab in Vienna, Austria in 1920 to Hungarian parents...
, Manning Clark
Manning Clark
Charles Manning Hope Clark, AC , an Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987...
, Arthur Boyd
Arthur Boyd
Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
, Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
and Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
.
In 1993 Louis Kahan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for service to the arts.
He died in 2002, aged 97.