Klára Mária Hermina Lenz (30 June 1924, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

– 16 February 2013, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) was a Hungarian Gobelin tapestry artist who emigrated to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and in 1950 moved to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. She was the wife of the Hungarian nobleman Endre Farkas de Boldogfa (1908–1994),

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

of the Hungarian Armies during

Biography

She was born in a wealthy

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family in

, in the former

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Her ancestors can be traced back to the ancient Lenz family, which was ancient member of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal, Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. L ...

. A branch of that family moved to Hungary and lived for several centuries in

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. Klara (Clara) Lenz was born on 30 June 1924 in

. Her father was

József Lenz József Lenz (March 18, 1897 – March 14, 1965) was a commercial counselor, Hungarian Fruit Distributor, tradesman of exotic fruits, reserve hussar captain, decorated with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Order of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Chair ...

(1897–1965), a wealthy Hungarian landowner, tradesman of exotic fruits,

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

captain of the Royal Hungarian Army. Klára Lenz's mother was Klara Topits (1901–1993), daughter of the member of the high

of Budapest, Alajos József Topits (1855–1926), owner and director of the

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

factory "Son of Joseph Topits" (in Hungarian: ''Topits József fia''), located in Budapest, also Knight of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

. On 21 May 1942 Klára Lenz married the Hungarian nobleman Endre Farkas de Boldogfa (1908–1994),

of the

of the Hungarian Armies during the Second World War. Endre Farkas de Boldogfa was Head of the National Mobility Department at the Ministry of Public Supply during the war. Klára gave birth to two children. Endre hailed from the noble family

Farkas de Boldogfa The Farkas de Boldogfa family, (in Hungarian: "''boldogfai Farkas család''"; in German: "''Farkas von Boldogfa''"), is the name of a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family. Their members were landowners that occupied diverse relevant role ...

and was the son of dr.

István Farkas de Boldogfa Dr. István Farkas de Boldogfa (July 11, 1875 – January 6, 1921) was a Hungarian nobleman, jurist of the Kingdom of Hungary, supreme chief magistrate of district of Sümeg ( Hungarian: ''főszolgabíró'') in the county of Zala. Life Born ...

(1875–1921), supreme chief magistrate of district of

Sümeg Sümeg () is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary. Sümeg is mostly known for Sümeg Castle. It is north of Lake Balaton. Twin towns – sister cities Sümeg is twinned with: * Aichtal, Germany * Sovata, Romania * Tapolca Tapolca (; ) is a t ...

(''főszolgabíró''), and the noble lady Erzsébet Persay de Persa (1885–1913). After completion of the Second World War, Hungary was invaded by the Soviet armies that fought against Nazi troops after a coup had taken control of the country. Thus, the situation became critical and uncertain, after which József Lenz chose to go with his family to Switzerland. After spending nearly two years in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, the Lenz family moved to Venezuela, where they became naturalized citizens. Klara had started her career working in customer service for United Airlines and at various hotels. She also worked for several decades at the international airport in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

when the family moved to Colombia and also worked for Avianca The deep catholic artist met through her husband the Hungarian cardinal

József Mindszenty József Mindszenty (; 29 March 18926 May 1975) was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 1945 to 1973. According to the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', f ...

, who traveled to Venezuela in 1975 and briefly to Colombia in the same month. Endre Farkas de Boldogfa, knew Mindszenty since his childhood. Endre invited Mindszenty to visit Venezuela and arranged also the trip to Colombia, were Klára and her family received the Hungarian Cardinal.ZML. XIII. 10. Farkas család iratai. 10. doboz 1945 4.pallium 7 darab 2.Lenz József magánlevelei 1946 (9 oldal)

Tapestries

Lenz has created over 100 tapestries while in

. A museum in

Nyékládháza Nyékládháza is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, northern Hungary, from county capital Miskolc. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times; archaeological finds include an Avar cemetery. The villages Mezőnyék and ...

, in Hungary exhibits some of her tapestries as a greater exhibit on the Lenz family. Klara became very interested in the gods of indigenous cultures of Colombia, Peru, and Mexico, and she reproduced them in many of her works, as well as game animals, mythological animals and birds.

Gallery

References

* Matits, F. (1994). Clara Lenz works. Budapest, Hungary. The British Library. * Ruzsik Vilmos: Mindszenty utolsó lelkipásztori útja * Archives of Zala county. XIII. 10. Farkas család iratai. 10. doboz 1991–1993 4. pallium 5. darab 3.Farkas Endréné Lenz Klára kárpótlási ügyben folytatott levelezése (21 oldal)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenz, Klara 1924 births 2013 deaths 20th-century women textile artists 20th-century textile artists 21st-century women textile artists 21st-century textile artists 20th-century Hungarian women artists 21st-century Hungarian women artists Colombian weavers Hungarian emigrants Immigrants to Venezuela Hungarian nobility Hungarian Roman Catholics Farkas de Boldogfa family Venezuelan emigrants to Colombia