American, born Hungary: Exhibition Activities

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION​

The exhibition features photographs created by artists who were born in Hungary but eventually moved to places like Berlin, Paris, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. You’ll see photographs that feature the people and places these artists met and discovered and you can also explore how their travels challenged their way of working – how they were taking photographs and even what they chose to capture.  
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Para obtener una versión en español de este recurso Actividades para familias y niños relacionadas con la exposición.​

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Fast Facts!​

• There are more than 183 photographs in the exhibition.​
• The photographs show cities from Europe and the United States including Berlin, Hollywood, New York, Chicago, and Paris.​

That’s a lot to see! Use this guide throughout the galleries to find and explore the work of the artists in this exhibition.

ACTIVITIES FOR EXPLORING THE EXHIBITION​

Search through the exhibition to find these images created by artists that left their home to capture the world around them. The cards below appear in the same order you will come across them in the galleries, so keep your eyes open.  When you find a work, tap the card to flip it–on the back you’ll find more information about the artwork and a question or activity to help you explore further. 

Find this photo that shows a stone lion whose head has fallen off!

Budapest
by André Kertész

The photographer that created this photo was born in a country called Hungary, but later moved away and traveled all over the world. After being away for awhile, he returned to Hungary for a visit and took this image.

Have you ever been away from home? Where did you go? How did it feel to come back home?

Oops! It looks like the photographer was taking this picture through a broken window, but there's more to the story.

Broken plate, 1929, Paris
by André Kertész

When the photographer that created this photo moved from Paris he left behind his photography supplies with a friend, including a glass-plate negative, which is like a photograph printed on glass. That piece of glass is then used to make a print on paper. Almost 30 years later, when he got the negative back, he was disappointed to see it damaged. He decided to print the image anyway and ended up loving the result!​ Can you think of a time when you made a mistake? What happened and how did things turn out?

Imagine standing where the photographer stood in this image. Describe what you see.​

The First American Soldiers Enter the Town, Triona, Sicily
by Robert Capa

Two soldiers walk down a road toward a third man, with broken and damaged buildings around them. This image was taken by a photojournalist who was documenting the end of World War II. Photojournalists use their images to tell the news to people who can't be there. These photographs communicate a story and are usually published in newspapers or, today, posted online. Can you think of an upcoming important event that should be photographed?

Look closely at this photograph. Does anything look strange or not quite right?

Wall Street, New York
by György Lőrinczy

Could a jet plane really fit on a crowded city street like you see here? Probably not! What you see here is a technique called 'photomontage' where two images are combined into one. He took a photo of himself standing in front of a fighter jet and added it to a different image he took of a street in New York City. By combining the two images, the artist makes us question if this scene really could have happened.

What else would you add to this photograph to make it even more unreal?

Target and Cone
by György Kepes

The photographer that created this photo enjoyed exploring how light and color interact with each other. He did this by setting up still lifes—works of art that show groups of objects that are still and not alive.​

Repeating dots, lines and shapes interact here to make an interesting photograph! What objects would you use to create a still life?

Is this a photo of two women or the same woman?​

Lucille Ball
Laszlo Josef Willinger

It’s the same person shown from two different angles! The artist's decision to repeat the same person gives the viewer the chance to see her from two perspectives at once. Lucille Ball, the woman in this photograph, was a comedian known for her work in television and movies between 1930-1970.

Can you think of a celebrity today that you have seen photographs of? What are they famous for?

After Your Visit to the Exhibition…

• Take a break. Sit in the museum’s sculpture garden or café to share a snack and think about the art you have seen today. Take time to reflect on what you noticed, felt, or thought and share your reflections with someone you came with or write down your own thoughts.   ​
• Find more photographs on view on the third floor of the museum in the exhibition Home/Grown: Photographs by Susan Worsham and Brian Palmer​.
• Visit the Interactive Family Lounge on Level 1.  ​
• Feeling inspired? Learn how to take a photograph on LEARN.

Images (in order they appear on the page)

Target and Cone, ca 1939, György Kepes (American, born Hungary 1906-2001), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund, 2015.225​

Budapest, 1948, André Kertész (Kertész Andor)(American, born Hungary, 1894-1985), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation Inc., 2019.444​

Broken Plate, Paris, 1929, 1929, printed 1973, André Kertész (Kertész Andor)(American, born Hungary, 1894-1985), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of the Collection of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, 2016.544.8​

The First American Soldiers Enter the Town. Triona, Sicily, August 1943, Robert Capa (Endre Erno Friedmann) (Hungarian, 1913–1954), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund and Aldine S. Hartman Endowment Fund, 2022.34 ​

Wall Street, New York, 1977-78, György Lőrinczy (American, born Hungary, 1935-1981), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2020.129​

Lucille Ball, 1943, László Josef Willinger (American, born Hungary 1909-1989), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Howard Greenburg, by exchange, 2020.188