George Krause
Encyclopedia
George Krause is an American artist photographer, now retired from the University of Houston
where he established the photography department.
During the 1950s, Krause studied painting, drawing, sculpture
, and photography at the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA). While serving in the US Army between 1957 and 1959, George Krause turned his full attention to photography, spending all his free time documenting the culture of the black neighborhoods in the racially segregated communities of South Carolina
. Krause later moved in a less documentary direction, seeking images that were more ambiguous and open to viewer interpretation with projects dealing with cemetery monuments, religious statuary, and an atypical series of nudes. In the volume George Krause: A Retrospective published in 1991 in conjunction with a major mid-career exhibition, Anne Wilkes Tucker
, the curator of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, observed: “Krause explores intensely personal themes rooted in basic human concerns: sensuality, mortality, and mystery....His work is perpetually relevant because his issues are basic and vital to the human condition. Few viewers leave his exhibitions unmoved—be it by indignation, horror, pathos, or wonder.”
George Krause's work has been collected by many institutions including Museum of Modern Art
in New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art
; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the George Eastman House
in Rochester, NY; the Library of Congress
; the Bibliothèque nationale
in Paris; the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University
; the Art Institute of Chicago
; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
; and the Milwaukee Art Museum
. George Krause currently lives and works in Wimberley, Texas
.
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
where he established the photography department.
During the 1950s, Krause studied painting, drawing, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, and photography at the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA). While serving in the US Army between 1957 and 1959, George Krause turned his full attention to photography, spending all his free time documenting the culture of the black neighborhoods in the racially segregated communities of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Krause later moved in a less documentary direction, seeking images that were more ambiguous and open to viewer interpretation with projects dealing with cemetery monuments, religious statuary, and an atypical series of nudes. In the volume George Krause: A Retrospective published in 1991 in conjunction with a major mid-career exhibition, Anne Wilkes Tucker
Anne Wilkes Tucker
Anne Wilkes Tucker is an American museum curator of photographic works. Tucker was born in Baton Rouge. She received a B.A. in Art History from Randolph Macon Woman's College in 1967, and an A.A.S in Photographic Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1968...
, the curator of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, observed: “Krause explores intensely personal themes rooted in basic human concerns: sensuality, mortality, and mystery....His work is perpetually relevant because his issues are basic and vital to the human condition. Few viewers leave his exhibitions unmoved—be it by indignation, horror, pathos, or wonder.”
George Krause's work has been collected by many institutions including Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
in Rochester, NY; the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
; the Bibliothèque nationale
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in Paris; the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
; the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
; and the Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Beginning around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no facilities to hold major art exhibitions...
. George Krause currently lives and works in Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley is a small town in Hays County, Texas, United States. Prior to its incorporation in May 2000, it was a census-designated place . The population was 2,626 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Publications
- George Krause 1. Haverford, Pennsylvania: Toll Armstrong Publishers, 1972. Book, introduction by Mark Power.
- I Nudi. Philadelphia: Mancini Gallery, 1980.
- Qui Riposa: Alternative Lives. New Haven, Connecticut, 1987. Booklet of photographs by Krause and texts by Rosellen BrownRosellen BrownRosellen Brown is an American author, and has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston...
. - Krause Roman. Houston, Texas: Harris Gallery, 1991. Leaflet, afterword by Mark Power.
- George Krause: Universal Issues. Houston, Texas: Rice University Press, 1991. Book, introduction by Anne Wilkes TuckerAnne Wilkes TuckerAnne Wilkes Tucker is an American museum curator of photographic works. Tucker was born in Baton Rouge. She received a B.A. in Art History from Randolph Macon Woman's College in 1967, and an A.A.S in Photographic Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1968...
.
Grants
- Fulbright-Hays Fellowship to Spain in 1963
- Commission from Citizens’ Council on City Planning and the Philadelphia Foundation in 1966
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1967 - Philadelphia College of Art Alumni Award in 1970
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 1973 - Bicentennial Commission, Philadelphia in 1975
- First Prix de Rome in Photography Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1976-77 - Photographer in Residence, American Academy in Rome National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 1979-80 - Unicolor Grant in 1983
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, Filmmaking in 1985 - Cultural Arts Council of Houston in 1986
- Texas Artist of the Year in 1993
- Artist in Residence at Tylee Cottage, Wanganui, New Zealand in 1997
- Artist in Residence at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2007