Francis de Erdely
Encyclopedia
Francis de Erdely was renowned in Europe and the United States for his powerful figure paintings and drawings as well as for his teaching abilities.
and the Sorbonne
in Paris
. He first exhibited in 1924 in Madrid
and Barcelona
. De Erdely was commissioned to paint a portrait of Maria Cristina, who had been queen regent of Spain until 1902, and for that painting was awarded the Színyei-Merse Grand Prize in Budapest
in 1925.
In the 1930s his art changed as he became increasingly troubled by the effect of war on humanity, a subject that would dominate much of his art for the rest of his life. Depicting the atrocities of war in his sketches and early paintings, the artist was eventually banished from Hungary by early Gestapo members. He arrived in the United States in 1939 and after a year in the East settled in Detroit. His solo exhibitions in New York
and Detroit drew favorable comments from leading newspaper critics who extolled the vitality of his drawing and his ability to probe the depths of human experience. Although he painted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, he became best known for his figure compositions.
In 1944, he moved to California
and exhibited his war paintings and drawings, which were favorably compared with The Disasters of War
etchings by Francisco Goya
(1746–1828). In these poignant works de Erdely expressed emotion through meticulously refined, anatomical drawing.
De Erdely was dean of the Pasadena Art Institute School for two years, 1944-46. In 1948, he became faculty of the Jepson Art Institute
in Los Angeles
. His longest and most influential academic affiliation was with the University of Southern California
, where he taught from 1945 until his death in 1959.
De Erdely was a principal figure in the West Coast Modernist school. As an instructor in the Los Angeles art community, he was highly respected and instrumental in training younger generations of artists. He is still considered one of the most influential artists to have worked on the West Coast. The artist Millard Sheets
, said of de Erdely, "A master of our day, he draws or paints with equal spirit -- neither is the lesser in his estimate. He knows the importance of the arts to life. Through him, his students find new meaning and understanding of their profession. His work, his spirit and his enthusiams are a real contribution to our muddled world."
His work is in many collections around the world including the Art Institute of Chicago
, National Gallery of Victoria
, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
, and the Carnegie.
Biography
De Erdely studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Budapest, from 1919 to 1923, and later attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He first exhibited in 1924 in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. De Erdely was commissioned to paint a portrait of Maria Cristina, who had been queen regent of Spain until 1902, and for that painting was awarded the Színyei-Merse Grand Prize in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1925.
In the 1930s his art changed as he became increasingly troubled by the effect of war on humanity, a subject that would dominate much of his art for the rest of his life. Depicting the atrocities of war in his sketches and early paintings, the artist was eventually banished from Hungary by early Gestapo members. He arrived in the United States in 1939 and after a year in the East settled in Detroit. His solo exhibitions in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Detroit drew favorable comments from leading newspaper critics who extolled the vitality of his drawing and his ability to probe the depths of human experience. Although he painted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, he became best known for his figure compositions.
In 1944, he moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and exhibited his war paintings and drawings, which were favorably compared with The Disasters of War
The Disasters of War
The Disasters of War are a series of 8280 prints in the first published edition , for which the last two plates were not available. See "Execution". prints created between 1810 and 1820 by the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya...
etchings by Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
(1746–1828). In these poignant works de Erdely expressed emotion through meticulously refined, anatomical drawing.
De Erdely was dean of the Pasadena Art Institute School for two years, 1944-46. In 1948, he became faculty of the Jepson Art Institute
Jepson Art Institute
Jepson Art Institute, founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by artist Herbert Jepson, was an art school located at 2861 West 7th Street that flourished from 1947 to 1953 - becoming an important center for experimental figure drawing, art theory and printmaking. Prior to this, Jepson served as an...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His longest and most influential academic affiliation was with the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he taught from 1945 until his death in 1959.
De Erdely was a principal figure in the West Coast Modernist school. As an instructor in the Los Angeles art community, he was highly respected and instrumental in training younger generations of artists. He is still considered one of the most influential artists to have worked on the West Coast. The artist Millard Sheets
Millard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
, said of de Erdely, "A master of our day, he draws or paints with equal spirit -- neither is the lesser in his estimate. He knows the importance of the arts to life. Through him, his students find new meaning and understanding of their profession. His work, his spirit and his enthusiams are a real contribution to our muddled world."
His work is in many collections around the world including the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, and the Carnegie.
Collections
- Brussels Moderne, Brussels, Belgium
- Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown , OH
- Colorado Springs Fine Arts, Colorado Springs, CO
- Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
- Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
- De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, UT
- Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA
- Pasadena Art Institute, Pasadena, CA
- Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, PA
- Seattle Museum of Art, Seattle, WA
- Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT
- USC Fisher Gallery, University of California, CA
Exhibitions
- 1925 Budapest, Hungary
- 1939 Hungarian Relief Library, New York, NY
- 1940-44 Detroit Art Institute, Detroit, MI
- 1940 De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
- 1940 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
- 1941 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, PA
- 1942 Vancouver Museum of Fine Art
- 1942-45 Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- 1942-43 The Scarab Club, Detroit, MI
- 1943 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- 1943-44 De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
- 1945-46 Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
- 1945-46 San Francisco Fine Arts Association, CA
- 1946 Pasadena School of Arts, Pasadena, CA
- 1950 Laguna Beach Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
- 1950 Crocker, Sacremento, CA
- 1950 San Joaquin Pioneer Museum and Haggin Art Galleries, Stockton, CA
- 1950 Oakland Art Museum, Oakland, CA
- 1959-60 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
- 1960 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, CA
- 1960 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Awards
- 1925 Budapest, Hungary (Szinyei-Merse Grand Prize)
- 1929 Ghent, Belgium (Triennial Bronze Medal)
- 1940-44 Detroit Art Institute (prizes)
- 1942 Scarab Club (medal)
- 1943 Scarab Club (medal)
- 1946 Scarab Club (prize)
- 1946 Pasadena School of Arts (prize)
- 1947-51 Oakland Art Gallery (prizes)
- 1949 Arizona State Fair (award)
- 1954 Audubon Association (medal)
Sources
- Anderson, Alissa. Francis De Erdely, Santa Barbara: Anderson Shea Art Appraisals, 2008.
- Watson, Ernest W. Twenty Painters and How They Work, New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1950.
- Hughes, Edan Milton. Artists in California, 1786–1940, p. 289. San Fran.: Hughes Pub., 1989.
- Arthur Millier. Francis De Erdely: 1904-1959. Pasadena Art Museum, 1960.
- Moure, Nancy Dustin Wall. California Art: 450 Years of Painting and Other Media, pp. 287–295. Los Angeles: Dustin Publications, 1998.
- Cummings, Paul. A Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists, p. 97. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Falk, Peter Hastings, Ed. . Who Was Who in American Art, p. 155. Sound View Press, 1985.
- McClelland, Gordon T. and Jay T. Last. California Watercolors 1850-1970, p. 104. Hillcrest Press.
- Falk, Peter Hastings, Ed. Record of the Carnegie Institute's International Exhibitions 1896-1996, p. 106. Sound View Press, 1998.