NAGY Albert
1902–1970
Biography
1902 The artist is born in Turda. His father, Albert Nagy, works as an economist-accountant at the local prefecture and as a journalist; his mother, Boriska Moldvai, is a teacher.
1912 The artist’s mother dies.
1913 He is taken into the care of his aunt in Cluj-Napoca, Berta Nagy, and her husband, László Weress. He studies at the Unitarian College, where his uncle, Gyula Nagy, is his drawing teacher.
1921 The artist’s father dies. After completing his high school education, he enrols at the Faculty of Engineering in Budapest, but gives up after half a year.
1922 He attends the free art school run by István Réti, Béla Iványi Grünwald, and Jenő Feiksz. He also attends evening classes at the Academy of Decorative Arts, under the guidance of Ferenc Márton. In the same year, he enrols at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, where his teacher is the painter Gyula Rudnay. His Budapest studies are paid for by the English Unitarian minister Fred Hankinson.
1926 He travels to Italy, spending a few weeks in Florence and then taking up residence in Rome. He lives in precarious circumstances.
1929 He mortgages the family home in Turda in order to buy painting materials and starts to paint. One of his drawings is noticed by the Italian press, which saves him from being expelled from Italy.
1930 An art dealer exhibits several of his drawings. He catches the attention of the broker and banker Dr. Eduardo Paolillo, who provides him with a monthly allowance. He continues to paint, and decides, together with Dr. Paolillo, to organise an exhibition.
1931 In August he is hospitalised and has surgery on one of his lungs. He is discharged only in the spring of 1932.
1932 He travels in Italy, visiting cities including Florence, Venice, and Palermo. Three of his oil paintings and one bronze statue (Tempesta – Tempest, Turbina di vento – Wind Turbine, Ritratto – Portrait, and Busto del dr. Eduardo Paolillo – Bust of Eduardo Paolillo) feature in an exhibition of modern Hungarian art at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.
1934 In March-April he holds a solo exhibition of 37 works at the Palazzo Doria in Rome, which enjoys great media success.
1937 He leaves Italy and lives for a time in Budapest, where he exists in precarious financial circumstances.
1940 During his wartime military service he is sent to build roads but is hospitalised after only a month.
1941 He settles in Cluj-Napoca, where he lives in the home of his brother Ernő Nagy and sister-in-law Magda.
1945 He participates in the first collective exhibition to be held in Cluj-Napoca after the end of the war. He becomes a regular participant in local and national exhibitions.
1946 He takes the place of the drawing teacher István Tóth at the Unitarian College for a few months.
1947 He participates in the exhibition Jelenkori romániai képzőművészet [Contemporary Romanian Fine Arts], held in Budapest.
His aunt and adoptive mother, Berta Nagy, dies. Using their inheritance, he and his brother build a small studio in the attic of the house on Tutunului Street (now Sándor Petőfi Street).
1948 He is declared to be a “formalist artist”, a stigma that he bears for several years, and is therefore excluded from exhibitions. He supports himself financially by making toys.
1953 He receives a disability pension from the Fine Arts Fund.
1955 He withdraws to Cristuru Secuiesc to rest.
1957 His art begins to be accepted.
1963 He stages a solo exhibition of 38 paintings at the Orizont Hall in Bucharest which is opened by Alexandru Ciucurencu. The exhibition is highly successful.
1964 He is awarded the Order of Labour, 2nd Class. He travels to the Soviet Union. He builds a new studio in the house on Tutunului Street.
1966 He contributes 14 works to a representative collection of Romanian art that is exhibited in North Korea, China and Mongolia, and in 1967 in Moscow and Leningrad.
1967 He is awarded the Order of Culture, 2nd Class.
1968 He organises, at the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca, a retrospective exhibition containing 67 paintings, which travels to Târgu Mureș, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Miercurea Ciuc, and in 1969 to Oradea.
24 February 1970: He dies of a heart attack. The majority of his works are held at the Szekler National Museum in Sfântu Gheorghe and at the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca. Another major part of his oeuvre is preserved in the Collection of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, Cluj. The remainder, consisting of only a few works, can be found in other museums in the country and abroad (for example, in the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) and in private collections.
1975 In April, the Korunk Gallery in Cluj-Napoca organises a retrospective exhibition, where 19 oil paintings and 4 sculptural creations are exhibited.
A selection of his letters and other writings is published under the title of Rózsikaédes by the Dacia Publishing House, with an introductory study by Zoltán Banner.
1981 In May, the exhibition Nagy Albert festészeti kiállítása [Exhibition of thePaintings of Albert Nagy] opens its doors at the museum in Odorheiu Secuiesc.
1982 A monograph on Albert Nagy by József Gazda is published by the Kriterion Publishing House.
1992 The Nagy Albert 1902–1992emlékkiállítása[Albert Nagy 1902-1992 Commemorative Exhibition] takes place between 28th July and 30th September at the Sfântu Gheorghe Fine Art Gallery, with works of art lent by the Unitarian Bishopric of Cluj-Napoca, the museum in Odorheiu Secuiesc, and the Szekler National Museum.
1997 Publication of the volume Fehér volt a világ. Tordától Rómáig, Pesttől Kolozsvárig [The World Was White. From Turda to Rome, from Pest to Cluj-Napoca] (Letters, articles, and studies by and about the artist Albert Nagy), edited by Zsuzsa Szilágyi N., with an introductory study by Lajos Kántor.
2002 In August-September, the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca stages the commemorative exhibition Centenar Albert Nagy 1902-2002 [Albert Nagy Centennial 1902-2002], where 28 paintings and a plaster sculpture (of Béla Bartók) are exhibited. Curators: Alexandra Rus, Sebestyén Székely.
Paintings by Albert Nagy are included in the exhibition Felezőidő – Romániai magyar művészet 1965–1975 [Half Time – Hungarian Art in Romania 1965-1975] at the Ernst Museum in Budapest, curator: Zoltán Vécsi Nagy.
2008 Several of his paintings are included in the exhibition and album Közösség és művészet – A Korunk Galéria története 1973–1986 [Community and Art – The History of the Korunk Gallery 1973-1986], the book being written by Lajos Kántor and Sebestyén Székely.
2010 In June-July the Quadro Gallery holds an exhibition of his drawings, curator: Sebestyén Székely.
2013 His works are included in the exhibition Szocrelatív – erdélyi magyar művészet 1945-65 között [“Socialist Relativism” – Hungarian Art in Transylvania between 1945 and 1965], held at the Szekler National Museum. Curator: Zoltán Vécsi Nagy.
2015 Several of his paintings feature in the exhibition Sors és jelkép. Erdélyi magyar képzőművészet 1920–1990 [Destiny And Symbol – Hungarian Art in Transylvania 1920-1990] at the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. Curator: György Szücs.
2020 In July-August a retrospective exhibition of his paintings is held at the Transylvanian Art Centre, Sfântu Gheorghe.
2021 In July-November, a retrospective exhibition devoted to Albert Nagy is held in two venues, the Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca and the Quadro Gallery.
Bibliography:
Banner Zoltán: Nagy Albert. Bucureşti, 1968.
Gazda József: Nagy Albert, Bukarest, 1982.
