Balthazar Korab

Who was Balthazar Korab?

Balthazar Korab was a photographer based in Detroit, Michigan specializing in architectural, art and landscape photography. He was born in Budapest, Hungary, and migrated to France after fleeing from Hungary's communist government in 1949. At the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France, he completed a diploma of architecture in 1954. For a time, he was a journeyman under the direction of leading European architects, including Le Corbusier.

In 1955, Korab arrived in the United States, and Eero Saarinen employed him to photograph the architectural design process. The architectural community in Detroit has embraced Korab's career, and many firms have retained him to document their building and private home projects. In 1956 he was awarded fourth place in the international design competition for the Sydney Opera House. In 1994, American President Bill Clinton presented a portfolio of Balthazar Korab's photography to Árpád Göncz, the president of Hungary.

Korab died on January 15, 2013 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife Monica and two children, Christian and Alexandra.