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Robert Kasimir
Robert Kasimir
Born in 1914, Robert Kasimir began drawing at age 4, taught by his grandfather Alois. He made his first etching at age 5. He graduated from Vienna schools and attended the Technological College before switching to the Academy for Graphic Art, where he studied under Professor Hans Frank, a painter and graphic artist.
Robert inherited the talent of his famous parents, Luigi Kasimir and Tanna Kasimir-Hoernes. His technique and subject matter are quite similar to those of his father. He signed his early etchings with the pseudonym “F.O. Robert” until he became established as a successful artist in his own right. Only then did he begin signing his etchings with his own name. Early in his career Robert also worked in oil, signing his paintings, “R.K.”. His idols were two well-known 19th Century Viennese artists, Rudolf von Alt and Ferdinand Waldmueller.
In 1936 Robert Kasimir came to the United States for a year of study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia. During that year he made drawings for his American etchings, including the Capitol in Washington, Yale University, Broad Street, New York, and the University of California in Berkeley. He completed the actual etchings after his return to Vienna.
In 1938 he was drafted into the army. He was sent to several fronts (Belgium, Holland, France, Russia) as a war reporter. He did many drawings during the war but only photos of them remain, for the originals were burned during the bombing of Berlin. In 1945 he returned to Vienna.
For the next several years’ industrial commissions comprised most of his work, though he did several of his Viennese and Austrian scenes, such as the Vienna Opera House and Kreuzenstein Castle.
In 1961 Robert opened his own printing shop in Vienna, where he printed his own etchings and those of Luigi and Tanna. Following his father’s death in 1962 he began signing Luigi’s etchings “n.1. Luigi Kasimir” (“n.1” is the abbreviation for Nachlass, meaning “from the estate of” in German). Since his mother’s death in 1972 he has signed her etchings, “n.1. T.K. Hoernes”.
Robert toured the eastern United States in summer, 1968, and made some 10 drawings at Yale, Harvard, and in New York City. Several of these have been published as etchings. In the summers of 1973, 1976, and 1981, he returned and had several successful shows in the Midwest and West. He also made several drawings and etchings of California scenes.
Mr. Kasimir was a consultant to the Austrian Government as a graphic arts expert. Today, his etchings are housed in many great print collections, including the New York Public Library, and many European Museums. Robert Kasimir died in the spring of 2002.
