Theodore Kautzky

Theodore Kautzky (1896–1953) was a Budapest-born architect, painter. teacher, and author of books on painting techniques. He emigrated to New York, United States in 1923.

Early life and education Kautzky was born in 1896 in Budapest, Hungary, to a family of moderate means. His father was a wrought iron designer who wanted him to follow in his trade; however, growing up near the Danube where there was a rich local and national tradition of participation in the arts and crafts had influenced him at a young age. He attended the Royal University in Budapest to study architecture, graduating from there in 1921.

Influence in the formative years He began drawing and painting with watercolors while he was still in school. The formal education provided him with the basic instructions in drawing, but Kautzky began to spend most of his spare time in independent pursuit of art. By the time he was in high-school, he was popularly known as "that Kautzky boy who draws and paints so well in watercolor."

When news of this competition reached Kautzky's office, he signed up for the opportunity to win world-wide fame and the considerable prize money. He collaborated with his associate, Lorand Lechner, who worked on their plans for the building while Kautzky focused on the exterior design and rendering.

Publications Kautzky worked on and published four books on pencil drawing and watercolors in his life. After meeting Reid, the editor of Pencil Points, the two became good friends and eventually collaborated on three books: Pencil Broadsides (1940), Pencil Pictures (1947), and Ways with Watercolor (1947). Kautzky provided the illustrations, drawings, paintings, and the corresponding technical information, while Reid wrote the text for the books. For the fourth book, Painting Trees and Landscapes in Watercolor (1952), he collaborated with Norman Kent, editor of The American Artist, as Reid had left Pencil Points and was occupied elsewhere. Kautzky's books were used for instruction in teaching during his lifetime and are still extensively used by students of watercolor painting and pencil drawing. After this trip, they would return to their Yonkers dwelling from which he commuted every day to his studio in Manhattan to work on his commercial projects.

Each year, Kautzky wanted to make enough money during his time in Yonkers to cover his expenses for the rest of the year and provide an additional sum for his family back in Hungary.

Death In 1953, Kautzky suffered from a month long illness at the end of which he unexpectedly pass away, aged 56.