Lajos Márk, also known as Louis Marc (25 August 1867, Reteag – 18 March 1942, New York City) was a Hungarian painter, illustrator and poster artist.

Biography

His father, , was an economist. After an education in

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

schools, his artistic talents led his father to enroll him in the Hungarian Royal Drawing School in 1885, where he studied with ,

János Greguss János Greguss (german: Johann Baptist Gregosch; 3 May 1838, Pozsony- 31 May 1892, Budapest) was a Hungarian genre and landscape painter. He was also a popular art teacher. Biography After studies in Nuremberg and at the Academy of Fine Arts, ...

and Bertalan Székely. After six months, he moved to Munich, where he studied at the private school operated by

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy; (2 February 1857, Máramarossziget (now Sighetu Marmației, Romania) – 8 May 1918, Técső (now Tiachiv, Ukraine) was a Hungarian painter of Armenian ancestry; original name was: Choriban (Korbuly).Gudenus János József:Ör ...

. He also took preparatory courses with

Johann Caspar Herterich Johann Caspar Herterich, sometimes known as Hans (3 April 1843, Ansbach – 26 October 1905, Munich) was a German history and genre painter. He was also a popular Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Life and work He was the son of ...

at the Academy of Fine Arts. Rather than become a full-time student there, he went to Paris and entered 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 ...

, where he studied for an additional two years with Tony Robert-Fleury and William Bouguereau. He returned to Budapest in 1890, to perform his mandatory military service. Between 1892 and 1897, he further developed his skills at the master's school run by Gyula Benczúr. By 1910, he was sufficiently well known as a portrait painter to receive an invitation from the

National Arts Club The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...

of New York to come to the United States. He would stay there until 1921, but kept in close touch with his homeland. In 1912, he married Rózsával Molnár, from Győr, who was a student of the acting teacher,

Szidi Rákosi Szidi Rákosi (born Szidónia Kremsner; 28 May 1852, Ötvös, Kingdom of Hungary – 20 October 1935, Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian actress and acting teacher. Her relatives included Béla Rákosi, Jenő Rákosi, Viktor Rákosi and Ida Rá ...

. At the outbreak of World War I, he went to enlist, but the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador,

Konstantin Dumba Konstantin Theodor (from 1917 to 1919, Graf von) Dumba (17 June 1856 – 6 January 1947), was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat serving as its last accredited Ambassador to the United States and famous for having been expelled during World War I fol ...

, rejected his offer, due to his age and the nature of his work. He and Rózsával never applied for American citizenship. After returning to Hungary, he began to exhibit widely throughout Europe. He also began to create book illustrations for works by ,

József Kiss Lieutenant József Kiss de Elemér et Ittebe was a World War I flying ace for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was credited with 19 aerial victories. He was the most successful Hungarian ace in the war. Biography Born 26 January 1896, Kiss's fa ...

, Kálmán Mikszáth, Ferenc Molnár, Ferenc Herczeg, Jenő Heltai and many others. He was also a member of several professional organizations. In 1928, to help alleviate the financial problems being experienced by new artists, he and established the , of which he became the first president. In 1929, the guild began operating in the United States. In 1938, he and his family went to New York; ostensibly to help organize an exhibition of Hungarian art. Due to the worsening political situation in Europe, they stayed. He maintained a studio there, on

West 57th Street 57th Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan, one of the major two-way, east-west streets in the borough's grid. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided into its east and west sections at ...

, until his death from a heart attack in 1942. Many of his works disappeared or were destroyed during World War II. Today, in addition to the Hungarian National Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery, his works may be seen at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.

Selected works

File:Mark-Carnival.jpg, Rococo Scene, with Pierrot File:Budapesti Cabaret.jpg, Poster for the
Budapest Cabaret File:Mark-Birthday.jpg, Birthday File:Mark-Chair.jpg, Elegant Lady in a Jacobean Chair

Sources

''The Life and Works of Lajos Márk''
by Anna Tüskés, Studies from the Past in Budapest @ REAL * Orosz Péter: ''Márk Lajos festőművész élete és munkássága''. Duna Palota Kulturális Kht. Budapest, 2007.

External links

More works by Márk
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, Lajos Hungarian painters Hungarian illustrators Hungarian poster artists Hungarian portrait painters Académie Julian Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from Bistrița-Năsăud County 1867 births 1942 deaths