Desiderius Orban, (; 26 November 18844 October 1986) was a renowned Hungarian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

and teacher, who, after emigrating to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1939 when in his mid-50s, also made an illustrious career in that country. One of The Eight in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, early 20th-century painters who were influential in introducing cubism, expressionism and Fauvism to Hungary, Orbán had been influenced by the paintings of

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

, seen when he lived in Paris. After building a substantial career, in 1939 after the rise of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the invasion of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, he left Hungary and emigrated to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He painted and taught for nearly another fifty years, influencing generations of students.

Biography

Born Orbán Dezső to Jewish-Hungarian parents in

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...

, Hungary, in 1884, he moved as a child with his family to

in 1888. There he later studied art with János Pentelei Molnár. He studied philosophy, physics and mathematics at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. In 1905, he performed the compulsory military service with the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1906, Orbán moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he studied briefly at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, but gave up academic training to study alone. Numerous artists from Hungary were flocking to Paris at the time. After his return to Budapest, in 1909 Orbán joined with several other young artists known as "neos", or ''Keresők'' (''The Seekers''). They were taking a different direction from the older artists of the Nagybánya school, whose painters had worked at what is now

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and first brought impressionist and post-impressionist techniques to Hungary. At their second exhibit in 1911, the group took the name

The Eight (Nyolcak) The Eight (''A Nyolcak'' in Hungarian language) was an avant-garde art movement of Hungarian painters active mostly in Budapest from 1909 to 1918. They were connected to Post-Impressionism and radical movements in literature and music as well, ...

; they brought contemporary painting techniques and expression from western Europe to Hungary. Other members of the group were

Károly Kernstok Károly Kernstok (23 December 1873, in Budapest – 9 June 1940, in Budapest) is a Hungarian painter. In the early twentieth century, he was known for being among the leading groups of Hungarian painters known as the "Neos" and The Eight (190 ...

Béla Czóbel Béla Czóbel (4 September 1883 – 30 January 1976) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian Painting, painter, known for his association with The Eight (Nyolcak), The Eight in the early 20th century in Budapest. They were known for introducing Post-Im ...

Róbert Berény Róbert Berény (18 March 1887 – 10 September 1953) was a Hungarian painter, one of the ''avant-garde'' group known as The Eight who introduced cubism and expressionism to Hungarian art in the early twentieth century before the First World W ...

Dezső Czigány Dezső Czigány (1 June 1883 – 31 December 1937) was a Hungarian painter who was born and died in Budapest. He was one of The Eight (1909–1918), who first exhibited under that name in Budapest in 1911 and were influential in introducing cubi ...

Ödön Márffy Ödön Márffy (30 November 1878 – 3 December 1959) was a Hungarian painter, one of The Eight in Budapest, credited with bringing cubism, Fauvism and expressionism to the country. Biography Following a short basic training, he obtained a g ...

Bertalan Pór Bertalan Pór (4 November 1880 – 28 August 1964) was a Hungarian painter associated with the development of modernist Hungarian art. He was a member of The Eight, a movement among several Hungarian painters in the early twentieth century who ...

, and

Lajos Tihanyi Lajos Tihanyi (29 October 1885 – 11 June 1938) was a Hungarian painter and lithographer who achieved international renown working outside his country, primarily in Paris, France. After emigrating in 1919, he never returned to Hungary, even on a ...

. In these early years, Orban came into contact with

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

. In 1912-13 he was called up again for military service in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

Marriage and family

In 1915, Orbán married Alice Vajda, a doctor serving in the army.

1930s and after

Through the 1920s, Orbán continued to work at art. In 1931, he founded the Arts and Crafts Academy, Atelier, in Budapest. In 1937, his painting ''Cathedral in Eger'' (1928) was seized by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

from the Nuremberg Museum collection as they objected to modern art; it was never recovered. With the rise of the Nazis,

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, in 1939 Orbán fled Budapest around the time of the German invasion of Poland and beginning of World War II. At the age of nearly 55, he emigrated first to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Emigration to Australia

Orbán went on to

, where he settled. He changed his first name to Desiderius. In 1942 during the war, he enlisted in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

as a private. He began his own art school. For a time, to earn a living, he worked as a spray painter in a Sydney factory. In 1944, one of his paintings was purchased by the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

. From 1946 to 1949, Desiderius Orbán was President of the NSW branch of the Contemporary Art Society of Australia. In 1953, he was elected Chairman of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

National Committee of Visual Arts. From 1957 to 1967, he conducted summer schools in painting at the University of New England,

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

. He was a judge for the 1960

Sulman Prize The Sir John Sulman Prize is one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, having been established in 1936. It is now held concurrently with the Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known art prize, and also with the Wynne Prize, at the Art Gallery ...

at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 1967, and again in 1971, he won the

Blake Prize for Religious Art The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015, and since 2016 has been a ...

. His students in Australia included Harold Thornton,

Yvonne Audette Yvonne Audette (born 22 April 1930) is an Australian abstract artist. Life Audette was born in Sydney in 1930 and after attending art classes whilst still attending the prestigious private school Ascham, she and her American-born parents we ...

Margo Lewers Margo Lewers (19081978) was an Australian interdisciplinary abstract artist who worked across the media of painting, sculpture, tapestry, ceramics and the domestic arts. She was renowned for a number of major public commissions and for her lan ...

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...

, Pat Kelk Graham, Ruth Faerber (b. 1922), Panni Roseth, Olive Hughes, John Coburn, Ruth Burgess, Virginia Cuppaidge, James Clifford (1936–1987), Aileen Rogers (1916–1994), Sheila McDonald, Hilary Cassidy, Mary Curtis and Tom Green (1913-1981). Orban died in Sydney in 1986, aged 101. A collection of Desiderius Orban-related research material is housed at Lane Cove Library in Sydney.

Legacy

*1975, he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) for his service to the arts. *1982, Orban was awarded the Gold Medal of the Order of the Hungarian Flag by the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Uni ...

. In the 21st century European museums have held major exhibits on the Hungarian modernists and marked the centenary of the first exhibit of The Eight. * 2006, ''Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya, 1904-1914'', 21 March—30 July 2006,

Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the works ...

''Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya, 1904-1914: Exhibition in the Hungarian National Gallery, 21 March--30 July 2006'', Kristina Passuth and György Szǔcs, Lóránd Bereczky, 2006 * 2010, ''A Nyolcak (The Eight): A Centenary Exhibition,'' 10 December 2010 – 27 March 2011, Janus Pannonius Museum,

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

* 2012, ''The Eight. Hungary's Highway in the Modern'' (Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne), 12 September - 2 December 2012, Bank Austria Kunstforum,

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

, collaboration with Museum of Fine Arts and Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest.Bécs, Kunstforum: ''Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne''
, 2012, Bank Austria Kunstforum, accessed 29 January 2013

Selected solo exhibitions

*1917 Solo exhibition, Konyves Kalman Gallery, Budapest *1923 Helikon Gallery, Budapest *1924-31 Various solo exhibitions in Hungary, Romania and Czechoslovakia *1943 Notanda Gallery, Sydney *1944 Farmer's Blaxland Gallery, Sydney *1946 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney; Myer Art Gallery, Melbourne *1950 David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney *1952, 59 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney *1955 John Martin Art Gallery, Adelaide; Bissietta Art Gallery, Sydney *1957

Brummels Gallery Brummels Gallery in South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia, was a commercial gallery established by David Yencken in 1956 to exhibit contemporary Modernist Australian painting, sculpture and prints, but after a period of dormancy became best known in ...

, Melbourne *1960 Newcastle Regional Art Gallery *1963 Komon Gallery, Sydney; War Memorial Gallery of Fine Arts, University of Sydney; Douglas Galleries, Brisbane; Ipswich Arts Centre, Queensland *1964-68 Komon Gallery, Sydney *1969 Retrospective, Newcastle Regional Art Gallery *1969 Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle; Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney *1970, 71 Toorak Art Gallery, Melbourne *1972 Reid Gallery, Brisbane; Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney *1973 Langsam Galleries, Melbourne; The Sculpture Gallery, Sydney; Reid Gallery, Brisbane; Skinner Gallery, Perth *1975 Retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales *1976 David Sumner Gallery, Adelaide *1977 Artarmon Gallery, Sydney *1978 Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney; Queen Street Gallery, Sydney *1979 Trinity Delmar Gallery, Sydney *1979 Masterpiece Gallery, Hobart *1980 New South Wales House, London *1981 Niagara Lane Gallery, Melbourne

Selected group exhibitions

*1909-12 Exhibited with the Keresok Group, then Nycolcak Group, in Budapest and Berlin *1914 Exhibition of Hungarian Artists, Vienna Kunstlerhaus *1918 Ernst Gallery, Budapest *1932 Still Life Exhibition, National Salon, Budapest – Hungarian representative *1940 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney *1943 Became a regular exhibitor with the Contemporary Art Society and the Society of Artists *'Australia in Pictures', David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney *1944 'Contemporary Australian Painting', Art Gallery of New South Wales *''One Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Australia 1794-1944'', Art Gallery of NSW *1945 The Herald Exhibition of 'Present Day Australian Art', Lower Town Hall, Melbourne *1948 Began exhibiting with The Sydney Group *1950 'Sydney Art Today', Finney's Gallery, Brisbane; Macquarie Galleries, Sydney *1951 'Jubilee Exhibition of Australian Art' *1952 'Australian Painting', Art Gallery of NSW; Macquarie Galleries, Sydney *1954 Royal Tour Exhibition, The Fellowship of Australian Artists *1954-56 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney *1956 'Contemporary Australian Painting', Pacific Loan Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW and on board the 'SS Orcades' *1959 'Exposition des peintures du group Australian et Baltes', Gallerie Royale, Paris *1963 Australian Art Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *1971 'Hungarian Avant Garde 1909-1930', Munich and Milan *1971-82 Numerous group exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth *1983 Exhibition with Loyd Rees at Masterpiece Gallery, Hobart

Awards

*1929 Gold medal, International Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain (still life painting) *1957 Wagga Wagga Art Prize *1967 Blake Prize *1967 Muswellbrook Art Prize *1971 Blake Prize *1971 Wollongong Art Prize *1974 International Co-operation Art Award *1975 appointed an OBE for his service to the arts

Collections

*Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest *Municipal Art Gallery,

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, Hungary *Nuremberg Museum, Germany *National Gallery of Australia, Canberra *Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney *Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide *National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne *Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane *Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart *Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth *Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Victoria *Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria *Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria *Hamilton Art Gallery, Victoria *Horsham Regional Art Gallery, Victoria *Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria *Newcastle Regional Art Gallery, NSW *Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston *University Art Gallery, University of Melbourne *Municipal collections: Wollongong, Muswellbrook

References

*''Present Day Artists in Australia'' (1969), edited by Mervyn Horton. Sydney: Ure Smith

External links

"Desiderius Orban"
Prints and Printmaking, Australia
It's an Honour: OBE
Gov't of Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Orban, Desiderius 1884 births 1986 deaths Hungarian Jews Hungarian emigrants to Australia Australian Jews Australian painters Jewish painters Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Hungarian painters Blake Prize for Religious Art winners