Theodore Lukits

American (1897-1992)

Born in Temesvar, Hungary in 1897, artist Theodore Lukits came to the United States in 1898. At twelve years of age his parents enrolled him in classes at the School of Fine Arts at Washington University where he studied with tonalist Henry Wuerpel and American Impressionist Richard E. Miller. Lukits later studied with painter Victor Higgins at the Academy of Fine Arts and with Wellington Reynolds and Karl Buehr at the Art Institute of Chicago. Lukits also worked closely with Harry M. Walcott  and American realists Charles W. Hawthorne and George Bellows who were both guest instructors at the Institute. A trained painter, astute draftsman, brilliant colorist and fastidious craftsman, Lukits moved to Los Angeles in 1922 and established the Lukits Academy of Fine Art which operated for 65 years.

Lukits exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, California Art Club, Painters and Sculptors Club, American Artists Professional League and in a number of galleries. His works are held in the permanent collections of the Irvine Museum, Southern Alleghenies Museum, Jonathan Art Foundation, California Art Club and Nantucket Historical Society.