Lajos Márk, also known as Louis Marc (25 August 1867, Reteag – 18 March 1942,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) was a Hungarian painter, illustrator and poster artist.

Biography

His father, , was an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. After an education in

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

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 (; 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, Munich, he studied at the Polyt ...

and

Bertalan Székely Bertalan Székely (8 May 1835, Kolozsvár, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) – 21 August 1910, Budapest, Transleithania, Austria-Hungary) was a Hungarian history and portrait painter who worked in the Romantic ...

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

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy (2 February 1857 – 8 May 1918) was a Hungarian painter. He was considered one of the greatest Hungarian representatives of 19th-century Naturalism and Realism. Hollósy was not highly productive as an artist and was more im ...

. 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 art, genre painter. He was also a popular professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Life and work He was ...

at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

. Rather than become a full-time student there, he went to Paris and entered the

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

, where he studied for an additional two years with

Tony Robert-Fleury Tony Robert-Fleury (1 September 18378 December 1911) was a French painter, known primarily for historical scenes. He was also a prominent art teacher, with many famous artists among his students. Biography He was born just outside Paris, and st ...

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 Gyula Benczúr (28 January 1844, Nyíregyháza – 16 July 1920, Szécsény) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher. An "outstanding exponent of academicism", he specialized in portraits and historical scenes. He is "considered one of the grea ...

. 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 publi ...

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 Győr ( , ; ; 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 region, and – halfwa ...

, who was a student of the acting teacher,

Szidi Rákosi Szidi Rákosi (born Szidónia Kremsner; 28 May 1852, Dabronc, 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 I ...

. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian diplomat serving as its last accredited Ambassador to the United States and famous for having been expelled during ...

, 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,

Kálmán Mikszáth Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarians, Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages. Bi ...

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; January 12, 1878April 1, 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarians, Hungarian-born author, stage director, dramatist, and poet. He is widely regarded as Hungary's most celebrated and c ...

Ferenc Herczeg Ferenc Herczeg (born ''Franz Herzog'', 22 September 1863 in Versec, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire – 24 February 1954 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian playwright and author who promoted conservative nationalist opinion in his cou ...

Jenő Heltai Jenő Heltai (11 August 1871 – 3 September 1957), until 1913 Eugen Herzl, was a Hungarian author, poet, journalist and producer. Some of his works have also been translated into English and Hebrew among others. Biography Jenő Heltai was the ...

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 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 ...

. Today, in addition to the

Hungarian National Museum The Hungarian National Museum (, ) was founded in 1802 and is the national museum for the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary, including areas not within Hungary's modern borders, such as Transylvania; it is separate to the collection of int ...

and the

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 w ...

, his works may be seen at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

and the

Albright-Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum located adjacent to Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, United States. The museum shows modern art and contemporary art. It is directly opposite Buff ...

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

Selected works

File:Mark-Carnival.jpg,

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

Scene, with

Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...

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 19th-century Hungarian painters 20th-century Hungarian painters 20th-century 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