1910-1995

George Kratina was an American sculptor of Czech descent. Both of his parents were artists, his mother Rose was a painter, and his father Joseph was a noted sculptor. After learning from his father at the Sculptors Guild, Kratina attended Syracuse University where he studied chemistry and wood technology, and later trained in sculpture at Yale University. While there, he competed in the "sculpturing" category at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, in Los Angeles and Berlin respectively. In 1938, Kratina received the Prix de Roma and completed his studies abroad. When he returned to New York, he became a design and sculpture professor at Cooper Union and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was greatly loved by his students. Kratina worked with wood, bronze, enameled steel and aluminum, often in monumental dimensions. He was awarded many prizes and won several competitions, including a monumental sculpture for the Catholic Welfare Conference Building in Washington D.C., and the Liturgical Arts Society Award. Photo: "Man with Umbrella" by George Kratina.