Jan Lukas

After studying at a technical secondary school in Prague and the German business academy, in 1936 Lukas (Czech, 1915–2006) completed a one-year graphic arts program in Vienna. In 1932 he was accepted into the Czech Club of Amateur Photographers in Prague. He published his snapshots in the magazines Eva, Ahoj na neděli and others. From 1936 to 1938, he worked as a cameraman on promotional films for the Baťa firm in Zlín, where he met Karel Ludwig. From 1946 to 1948 he was editor of the magazines Sobota and Pramen, and after that he worked as a freelance photographer. His works include photojournalism conceived in a humanistic tone, travel snapshot, landscape photography, portraits and photos of Braun’s sculpture work. In his snapshots he frequently and successfully used striking details, and less traditional pictorial composition. From 1967 he lived in New York City. Lukas’s work gained notable attention again in the 1990s when his exhibitions were held in the Prague Mánes gallery (1995), in the Czech Center in New York (1998), and also when the Prague publishing house Torst issued his book Pražský deník 1938-1965 (A Prague Journal 1938-1965) in 1995.