Kertész, Moholy-Nagy, Capa… / Hungarian Photographers in America (1914–1989)

Visitors can see a representativ selection from the oeuvres of Hungarian photographers who made America their home during the period historians often call the ‘short twentieth century’. The exhibition displays more than 170 works by 32 prominent Hungarian émigré artists who settled in America. Although not all of them achieved international fame, they all played a significant role in their respective photographic genres in America.

The influence of Hungarian émigrés on twentieth century photography is enormous. The impact of Robert Capa alone is impressive, but that of André Kertész, György Kepes and László Moholy-Nagy is equally significant. These artists directly or indirectly influenced a host of important photographers, from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon and Aaron Siskind to Harry Callahan and Ray K. Metzker. Modernism and surrealism are deeply rooted in the aesthetic and technical approach of numerous Hungarian-born American photographers. Their impact on photography in the twentieth century is undeniable.

The influence of the Hungarian-American photographic connection and the Hungarian-born photographers who emigrated to America has been examined by few publications. Alex Nyerges, the director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, has been studying the Hungarian-American photographic connection for a decade, and the results of his research are presented for the first time here, at the Budapest exhibition.

In eight chapters, the exhibition examines the impact of Hungarian-born artists on American photography from their early careers in Hungary through Berlin and Paris, all the way to New York, Chicago and Hollywood. The presentation of this immense legacy takes visitors through various locations, as well as through the genres of photojournalism and fashion photography. The photographic selection made by the American and Hungarian curators is supplemented by photographs coming from Hungarian public and private collections to further diversify the displayed material.

The curators of the exhibition are Alex Nyerges, the director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Péter Baki, the director of the Museum of Hungarian Photography.