A series of events this weekend will celebrate the life and artwork of Henry Koerner, an Austrian born American painter best known for his magical realism and portraits of famous people he painted for the cover of Time magazine.
At 7 p.m. Friday, the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill will screen a special showing of ‘’The Burning Child,” a film about Henry Koerner’s cultural influences and origins. The film was shown at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2019. The artist’s son, Joseph Koerner, wrote, directed and co-produced the film. Tickets for the screening are $30 each.
Afterward, Joseph Koerner, an art historian at Harvard University, will answer questions about the film from 9-10:30 p.m. at The Silk Elephant, 1712 Murray Ave. Admission for the question-and-answer session is $30. Tickets are available at shuc.org.
On Saturday and Sunday, small group tours of Koerner’s Squirrel Hill home at 1055 S. Negley Ave. will be conducted. A wide array of Koerner’s paintings, some from private collections, have been hung in the home by Concept Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.
Built in 1966, Koerner’s home is known for its statues of cherubs and a colorful stained-glass door; both were recently restored by the current owner, Caroline Boyce. The house has high ceilings, hardwood floors and white walls that offer large spaces for displaying artwork.
Tours of the Koerner home on Saturday are at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday tours are at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Individual tickets are $125 per person. Reservations can be made online at shuc.org.
At 1 p.m. Sunday, Joseph Koerner will give a free lecture, “Henry Koerner’s Pittsburgh,” at the Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Ave. Guests should pre-register at shuc.org and enter Levinson Hall B through the Forbes Avenue parking garage.
All proceeds from the events benefit the Friends of the Neill Log House, a nonprofit that is working to restore the log house in Schenley Park that is the oldest existing residential structure in Pittsburgh. The Neill family lived there from 1774-1795.
Born in Vienna, Koerner left his native Austria after the Nazis invaded in 1938 and found work in New York City designing World War II posters and covers of detective novels. In 1952, at age 36, he came to Pittsburgh to teach art at Chatham University. An avid bicyclist, he rode all over the city and painted it from different vantage points. In 1991, while riding a bicycle in Vienna, he was struck by a motorist and died at age 75.
First Published: October 14, 2022, 9:09 p.m.
