 Josef Urban is primarily known as Joseph Urban
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Born in Vienna, Austria and died in New York City, Joseph Urban was educated at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and Polytechnicum in Austria as an architect. He was heavily influenced by the artists of the Vienna Secession* – Gustav Klimt, Josef Olbrich, and Josef Hoffman, as well as the architect Adolf Loos. Urban was also known for his theatrical design and his early illustrations of children’s books. This early work with children’s books resulted from his collaboration with his brother-in-law, Heinrich Lefler (1863-1919), including such works as Grimm’s Marchen (1905), Kling Klang Gloria (1907), Andersen Kalender (1911), and Marienkind (1914)
Urban immigrated to the United States in 1912 to become the art director of the Boston Opera House. Two years later he moved to New York City where he designed productions for the Ziegfeld Follies and the Metropolitan Opera. William Randolph Hearst was an important client and supporter.
Most of Urban’s work in the United States has been demolished (the Zigfeld Theatre for example) with the exceptions of Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. The home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, it is now the home of the Mar-A- Lago Club and designated a National Historic Landmark under the current ownership of Donald Trump. Also still in existence and designed by Urban is the New School, also known as the New School University in New York City; and the base of the Hearst Tower in New York City. The color gel Urban Blue (Roscolux #81) is named for him.
Submitted by Edward P. Bentley, Art Historian from Lansing, Michigan
Source:
Columbia University Archives
*For more in-depth information
about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary at
http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx
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