Hans Korsch

Hans Korsch was an artist and documentarian active during a brief but historically significant period, primarily spanning 1935 through 1936. Korsch’s documented output consists primarily of studies related to the decorative and industrial arts, indicating involvement in major governmental efforts to catalog American material culture during the Great Depression era.

Fifteen of Korsch’s index of American designs are preserved in institutional collections. These works function as professional, high-quality visual records, often focusing on intricate studies of domestic metalwork and furnishings. Specific documented items in the index include several precise renderings of the Andiron, with notations sometimes detailing individual units or specifying that a study represents one of a pair.

The primary collection holding works by Hans Korsch is the National Gallery of Art. The archival nature of this work establishes Korsch’s contribution to a comprehensive historical record. Today, many of these historical documentation studies are available in the public domain. Researchers often utilize these precise drawings as downloadable artwork, offering historians access to museum-quality details of early American craftsmanship alongside other Hans Korsch prints.