Fery Veronika szerk.: Fery Antal élete, munkássága, alkotásainak jegyzéke (Miskolc, 2005)

The life and work of Antal Fery by Dr. Imre Soós

pest was assured in 1969 by a donation of 800 works from Norbert Lippóczy, a Hungarian living in Tarnow, Poland. The material has since expanded and when the catalogue was published in 1984 it contained 3,500 pieces. Antal Fery is represented by 107 prints. 4 Our natural treasures, trees, flowers, gardens are his most lyrical plates. From 1981 onwards an increasing number of pieces of this kind appear in the catalogue of his works. The name of a botanical garden or arboretum can be seen with the depiction of the leaves or flowers of a tree or plant most characteristic of the region. On these small prints, in the style of the ex libris, the words ex herbario are written. Seeing this rich "harvest" the question as to who were the nameless people commissioning these works arose. The answer came in 1989 in the magazine Small Prints: the idea came from horticultural specialists László Pesti and Ferenc Tarjányi. With these wood engravings Antal Fery brought a new colour to contemporary Hungarian small prints. I should add that there is no series of a similar extent and function anywhere else in Europe. 5 Miniature books. In 1980 the Press Department of the Reformed Church of Hungary initiated a series of miniature books on the great figures of Hungarian intellectual life, and in time three books were published. The text of the little books which are hardly bigger than a matchbox was selected by Dr János Bottyán, the woodcut illustrations were made by Antal Fery. The first book was published to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Prince Gábor Bethlen. It ran to 88 pages with 37 woodcuts and was printed in 500 copies. The second book in the series appeared in 1982 on the 100th anniversary of the death of the poet János Arany. It ran to 124 pages with 57 woodcuts and was printed in 1000 copies. The third book marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sándor Körösi Csorna, the great traveller, in 1984 - once again in 1000 copies with 30 woodcuts. "I am seeking a lasting style," Antal Fery wrote in the catalogue for one of his exhibitions. The elderly master created a unique style in small prints that was characteristic of him alone and acted as an example at home and abroad. All his life he remained true to his realistic attitude, to clarity. In his own words, his aim was to create "crisp" woodcuts and his oeuvre made him one of the greatest masters of Hungarian wood engraving. It was said of him in his youth - but it held true a generation later too - that "As a man and as an artist he has only friends." In March 1993, at the age of 85, in full possession of his mental faculties, Antal Fery became paralyzed. On June 30 1994 he died. In the person of Antal Fery we lost the greatest master of style in contemporary Hungarian small prints, who, with his several thousand works, created the encyclopaedia of small prints of Hungarian