Your ticket to American, born Hungary will also grant you admission to A Long Arc.
Marvel at the poetic street scenes, Hollywood portraits, fashion photos, and images of war produced by more than 30 Hungarian-born artists who transformed photography in the 20th-century.
Curated by Alex Nyerges, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director and CEO, with Károly Kincses, founding director of the Hungarian Museum of Photography, American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy examines the pioneering artistry that often emerged out of backdrops of persecution and perseverance.
American, born Hungary follows a remarkable number of émigrés and exiles from Hungary to Berlin and Paris and then on to New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where they reinvented themselves and American photography. This exhibition is the first full examination of their circuitous journeys to the United States—in the aftermaths of two world wars and Hungary’s student-led revolt in 1956—and the wondrous artistic legacy that developed along the way.
More than 170 stunning, mesmerizing, and surreal photographs capture the unexpected beauty of fleeting shadows, gritty urban life, glamorous celebrities, and the promises of America. Included are works by notables such as André Kertész, László Moholy-Nagy, Martin Munkácsi, and György Kepes, along with less familiar names whose photos are instantly recognizable. One example is Robert Capa, a pioneer of modern photojournalism whose photos of Omaha Beach on D-Day are among the most famous of World War II.
Providing a missing chapter in art history, the exhibition’s focus is the astounding impact of Hungarian-born artists on photography in the United States, especially in urban centers. Highlights include photos by Moholy-Nagy, whose avant-garde beginnings in Dessau, Germany, inspired a “New Bauhaus” that sought to establish the Windy City as a design incubator; work by tailor and photographer John Albok, whose photographs were praised by the New York Times; and André de Dienes, whose portraits of cinema’s icons, including Marilyn Monroe, helped fuel Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Before opening at VMFA on October 5, American, born Hungary opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, on April 5, 2024, marking the grand opening of a newly renovated exhibition space at the museum. After its run at VMFA, the exhibition will travel to the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, where it will open September 26, 2025.
Exhibition Highlights
Under the Third Avenue EL, North of 27th St., New York, 1939, Arnold Eagle (American, born Hungary, 1909–1992), gelatin silver print, 9 3/4 x 12 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Alex Nyerges and Kathryn Gray, 2021.872 © Estate of Arnold Eagle
Lost Cloud, 1937, André Kertész (Kertész Andor), (American, born Hungary, 1894–1985), gelatin silver print, 8 1/2 x 5 3/8 in. Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of the Artist, 312.1965 © 2024 Estate of André Kertész
Shadows on the Rainy Road, 1936, Francis Haar (Haár Ferenc), (Hungarian, 1908–1997), gelatin silver print, 9 1/2 x 7 1/16 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2019.15 © 2024 Estate of Francis Haár
Joan Crawford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Santa Monica, California, 1929, Nickolas Muray (Mandl Miklós) (American, born Hungary, 1892–1965), gelatin silver print, 10 5/8 x 13 9/16 in. George Eastman Museum, Gift of Mrs. Nickolas Muray, 1971.0056.0013 © Nicholas Muray Photo Archives, Licensed by Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, Courtesy of the George Eastman Museum
Fashion Model Jumping, ca. 1930s, Martin Munkácsi (Mermelstein Márton) (Hungarian, 1896–1963), gelatin silver print, 11 1/2 x 9 1/8 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005, 2005.100.1103 © Estate of Martin Munkácsi, Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Image source: Art Resource, NY
Virginia Bruce, ca. 1938–39, László Josef Willinger, (American, born Hungary 1909–1989), gelatin silver print, 10 7/8 x 13 7/8 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Howard Greenburg, by exchange, 2020.186 © Estate of Laszlo Willinger, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation
Olivia de Havilland, 1936, Martin Munkácsi (Mermelstein Márton) (Hungarian, 1896–1963), gelatin silver print, 11 1/2 x 9 1/8 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund, 2020.182 © Estate of Martin Munkácsi, Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York
Fractured Light, Budapest, 1976, Sylvia Plachy (American, born Hungary, 1943), gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Courtesy of the Artist © Sylvia Plachy
Boys with U.S. Flag, Midway Park, Chicago, 1968, printed 1995, László Kondor (American, born Hungary, 1940), gelatin silver print, 13 x 19 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund, 2021.83 © 2024 Estate of Laszlo Kondor
Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Exhibition Endowment
The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation
Julia Louise Reynolds Fund
Davenport Family Foundation
Elisabeth Shelton Gottwald Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. Whitaker
Carol Ann Bischoff and Mike Regan
Nancy and Wayne Chasen
Community Foundation for a greater Richmond
Anne and Gus Edwards
Tibby and David Ford
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Garner, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. William V. Garner
Bertie Heiner
Richard S. Reynolds Foundation
Virginia Sargeant Reynolds Foundation
Michael Schewel and Priscilla Burbank
Mary and Don Shockey
YouDecide
Anne Battle and Leonard Slater
Cindi Cobbs and Jim Ludwig
Kate Neale Cooper and Matt Cooper
Birch Douglass
Gray-Nyerges Charitable Fund
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
Adrianne Joseph
James W. Klaus
Alexandria Rogers McGrath
Teri Craig Miles
Peachtree House Foundation
Tom Williamson and Janet Brown
An Anonymous Donor
Edie and Bob Cabaniss | Ann B. Carpenter in memory of Richard H. Carpenter, M.D. | Page and John Corey | Drs. Ronald A. and Betty Neal Crutcher | Dana Foundation, Inc. | Christopher English and Meda Lane | Eucharia “Ukay” and Richard Jackson, M.D. | Tammy and Brian Jackson | Arnel Manalo | Nancy and Tom McCandlish | John McGurl and Michelle Gluck | Dr. and Mrs. Kent Minichiello | Michelle and John Nestler | Candace H. Osdene | Dr. and Mrs. Carl Patow | Celia Rafalko and Rick Sample* | Ellen Ray, Main Street Law Offices | Reynolds Gallery | Anne Carter Robins and Walter R. Robins, Jr. Foundation Exhibition Endowment | Agustin E. Rodriguez and Coleen Butler Rodriguez | Andrea Wassmer | Deborah and Mark Wlaz | An Anonymous Donor
Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund provided support for the American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy catalogue.
Media Sponsor
Marketing support is provided by the Charles G. Thalhimer Fund. This list reflects sponsors as of September 24, 2024.
TOP OF PAGE Marilyn Monroe (detail), ca. 1949, André de Dienes (American, born Hungary, 1913–1985), gelatin silver print, 30 5/8 x 24 5/8 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2021.598, Photograph © Andre De Dienes/MUUS Collection