Adalbert Pilch (16 February 1917 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

– 10 December 2004 in

Tulln Tulln an der Donau () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the administrative seat of Tulln District. Because of its abundance of parks and gardens, Tulln is often referred to as ''Blumenstadt'' ("City of Flowers"), and "The C ...

) was an Austrian painter and graphic artist. The works of Adalbert Pilch include paintings, drawings and illustrations. He became well known for designing

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the ...

Life

In 1937, after graduating from school, Pilch took up studies at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

in the master class of

Wilhelm Dachauer Wilhelm Dachauer (5 April 1881 – 26 February 1951) was an Austrian painter. He studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna from 1899 to 1907 and was a professor at the academy from 1928 to 1944. Life Dachauer was in Ried im In ...

, with whom he was close friends until his death. From 1940 to 1945 he was enlisted and was at first deployed to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Later he was sent to

Lapland Lapland may refer to: Places *Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) **Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region ***Lapland (former pro ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

as a painter for the German war museums. He married in 1942. In 1945, after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Pilch started illustrating newspapers and was consulted for collaboration on

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

s and

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. He created more than 4,000 illustrations for children's and young adult's books and textbooks. Secondary, he worked on the appraisal of old farmhouses,

hammer mill A hammer mill, hammer forge or hammer works was a workshop in the pre- industrial era that was typically used to manufacture semi-finished, wrought iron products or, sometimes, finished agricultural or mining tools, or military weapons. The featu ...

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile manufacturing, Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the A ...

s, and

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimen ...

s by order of the Federal Museum of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt ...

. He portrayed former and acting Federal Presidents of Austria, as well as Presidents of the National Council, Traffic Ministers, and Director Generals of the postal service. He devised 200 drawings for the

War Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

at Vienna. From 1950 on he was a member of the

Vienna Künstlerhaus The Künstlerhaus in Vienna’s 1st district has accommodated the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung since 1868. It is located in the Ringstrassenzone in between Akademiestraße, Bösendorferstraße and Musikvereinsplatz. The building was erected betw ...

. In 1953 he received public attention due to a special exhibition of approximately 50 of his works, while in 1956 he got the first order for designing Austrian stamps. His "Hunting Series" (1959), the Europe Stamp (1960), the series "Olympia 1963" and "UPU 1964", as well as the

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...

"Die Kunst der Donauschule" (The Art of the Danube School; 1965) got international acknowledgment. During his life, Pilch designed 318 stamps for the Austrian post, 30 for the Principality of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

and one stamp for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The stamp he created in 1965, "Die Kunst der Donauschule", was elected the "most beautiful stamp of the world". In 1968 Pilch moved to

Mauerbach Mauerbach is a town on the western boundary of Vienna, Austria. Population Sights It hosts the summer houses of many rich Viennese families as well as Mauerbach Charterhouse (''Kartause Mauerbach''), a Carthusian monastery founded in 1313, clos ...

near Vienna. In 1970 he was promoted to

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

. He displayed his opus at several exhibitions until 2000. Pilch spent his last year of life in the nursing home ''Theresiaheim'' in Tulln.

Honours

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

* Gold Medal of Honour of the

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isl ...

of Vienna * Silver Medal of the city of Vienna * Gold Decoration for Services to the province of Lower Austria

External links

*
Homepage of Adalbert Pilch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilch, Adalbert 20th-century Austrian painters Austrian male painters 21st-century Austrian painters 21st-century male artists Austrian stamp designers Artists from Vienna 1917 births 2004 deaths Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art 20th-century Austrian male artists