IOWA Magazine | 01-27-2025

Mauricio Lasansky’s Influential Drawings Find New Home in National Gallery

2 minute read
The late University of Iowa artist’s celebrated series, which examined the horrors of the Holocaust, will be permanently housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Mauricio Lasansky PHOTO: FREDERICK W. KENT COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS, UI LIBRARIES Mauricio Lasansky served as a professor and head of printmaking at the UI for more than 40 years.
Mauricio Lasansky PHOTO: LASANSKY CORPORATION Artist Mauricio Lasansky in the 1960s

Once named “the nation’s most influential printmaker” by Time magazine, the late University of Iowa professor Mauricio Lasansky (1914–2012) didn’t limit himself to just one art form. One of his most notable pencil works—The Nazi Drawings—recently found a new, permanent home in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The Nazi Drawings show the atrocities of the Holocaust and World War II. The figures in the drawings—which include soldiers, religious leaders, women, and children—are life-size, with some reaching over 6-feet tall. Each tells a story of Lasansky’s disgust at the brutality of Nazi Germany.

Lasansky made the series of 33 works with pencil, turpentine wash, ink, and collaged elements like Bible and newspaper pages. The final work—a tripytch—was completed after the original series of 30, and it was composed of scrapped drafts of earlier pieces.

While Lasansky is known for his advanced techniques in intaglio printmaking, he felt the medium did not suit the message of The Nazi Drawings.

Mauricio Lasansky works on “The Nazi Drawings” in his Vinalhaven, Maine, studio in the 1960s during a summer break from teaching at Iowa.
Mauricio Lasansky (American, born Argentina, 1914-2012), <em>No. 16</em>, 1963, graphite and charcoal, with erasures, brush and asphaltum turpentine on red wash, on card paper, 71 1/8 x 43 1/8 in., National Gallery of Art, gift of the Levitt Foundation - Des Moines, 2024.43.16
Mauricio Lasansky (American, born Argentina, 1914-2012), <em>No. 27</em>, 1961-66, graphite with erasures, asphaltum turpentine wash and red powdered conte crayon wash, stencil, and cut, torn, and pasted biblical scripture paper on card, 45 7/8 x 46 in., National Gallery of Art, gift of the Levitt Foundation - Des Moines, 2024.43.27
Mauricio Lasansky (American, born Argentina, 1914-2012), <em>Triptych</em>, 1963-1971, graphite with erasures, asphaltum turpentine wash, red powdered conte crayon wash (brushed and spattered), white opaque watercolor, cut, torn, folded, and pasted newspaper and biblical scripture on card, three panels, left panel  79 5/8 x 37 5/8 in., center panel 79 5/8 x 44 1/2 in., right panel 79 5/8 x 37 5/8 in., National Gallery of Art, gift of the Levitt Foundation - Des Moines, 2024.43.30.a-c
Mauricio Lasansky works on “The Nazi Drawings” in his studio.
No. 16
No. 27
Triptych

PHOTOS: LASANSKY CORPORATION

“He wanted The Nazi Drawings to be something that had no disconnect for people,” says Diego Lasansky (16BFA), Mauricio Lasansky’s grandson and an artist residing in Iowa City. “It was important that the techniques were easily understandable so they did not distract the viewer.”

Born in Argentina to immigrants from Lithuania, Mauricio Lasansky’s first introduction to printmaking came from his father. In 1943, Lasansky received his first of five Guggenheim awards to come to New York to study the European print collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A printmaking renaissance had begun as more artists were embracing the craft.

In 1945, Lasansky accepted a position to start the printmaking program at the UI, where he taught for 40 years, establishing one of the nation’s most renowned printmaking programs.

“What attracted him to Iowa ... was a chance to build a new program,” says Diego Lasansky, “and he wanted to raise his kids in the United States ... and he always talked about really liking the people in Iowa.”

From 1961 through 1971, Lasansky worked on The Nazi Drawings at his studio in Vinalhaven, Maine, on summer breaks from teaching at Iowa. The artwork—previously maintained by the Levitt Foundation in Des Moines—has now been donated to the National Gallery of Art for a larger audience to experience.

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Lasansky’s Local Art

While Mauricio Lasansky’s art is featured in major museums across Argentina, Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S., many pieces still find their home at these galleries in the Iowa City area.

Lasansky Corporation Gallery: The downtown Iowa City gallery is run by Diego Lasansky, who maintains his grandfather’s legacy and archives.


Stanley Museum of Art: The UI’s art museum used to house The Nazi Drawings until the 2008 flood, but still holds many of Lasansky’s important pieces of art, from prints to drawings.


Cedar Rapids Museum of Art: The museum houses four galleries dedicated to Lasansky, and the art rotates to show the true breadth of his talent.

Lasansky’s Local Art

While Mauricio Lasansky’s art is featured in major museums across Argentina, Australia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S., many pieces still find their home at these galleries in the Iowa City area.

Lasansky Corporation Gallery: The downtown Iowa City gallery is run by Diego Lasansky, who maintains his grandfather’s legacy and archives.


Stanley Museum of Art: The UI’s art museum used to house The Nazi Drawings until the 2008 flood, but still holds many of Lasansky’s important pieces of art, from prints to drawings.


Cedar Rapids Museum of Art: The museum houses four galleries dedicated to Lasansky, and the art rotates to show the true breadth of his talent.

Join our email list
Get the latest news and information for alumni, fans, and friends of the University of Iowa.
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