FRANK, LEO (1884-1959)

"Sea Eagle" (c.1920)
coloured woodblock
30 x 40cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Frank was a prominent Austrian painter and printmaker. Like his twin brother, Hans, Leo became a painter who specialized in landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, and a printmaker who specialized in color woodcut. Between 1903 and 1907, he studied at the Vienna Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts) under Professor Anton von Kenner and later under Professor Franz Rumpler at the Academy of Fine Arts between 1907 and 1911. According to a family accounting, he traveled extensively after completing his studies. From 1920 to 1945, Frank was a Professor at the Department of Prints and Drawings. In 1921 he became a member of the Künstlerhaus, Vienna’s oldest artists society. He married Louise Eiles the following year. His work was included in the Spring Exhibition at the Secession Gallery in Vienna in 1911. Later in his career his color woodcuts were included in the Print Makers Society of California's International Print Makers exhibitions in 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1931. His work is represented in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Leo Frank was awarded the Austrian State Prize in 1925, the Golden Medal of Fine Arts of Vienna in 1928, the State Prize Medal in 1937, and the Golden Laurel of the Künstlerhaus in 1954.