Kovács Zita - Bálint Attila (szerk.): Baja és a Duna. Vallomások ecsettel. Bajai képzőművészek alkotásai - A Bajai Türr István Múzeum kiadványai 25. (Baja, 1998)
The foundation of the Picture Gallery in BAJA in 1936 meant the creation of an alive and unique collection of works of art in whole Hungarian museum activity of the thirtieth years. Even practical realisation of this project was very especial, virtually without analogies in Hungarian history of museums, after all, as a consummation of the process, it has arisen art collecting work, very wide on incidence, in which Imre Oltványi (Artinger) - in capital, and Ferenc Miskolczy in BAJA were „lever springs" of the process. Imre Oltványi (1893-1963), the native of BAJA, which was the director of the Budapest Credit and Pledge Bank, and also a writer, editor of the artistic magazine „Hungarian Art", - was such a citizen, who was well prepared, highly educated, who read and wrote on many languages. He carefully thought about art as a holiday, festival of soul, most suitable mean for conversion of rest-time in the beautiful and harmonic thesis. In such one, which lifts up the person from every day prompt rate of life. On a question „What the art is necessary for?" Oltványi answers: „all we can wait from art is a beautiful reflection of life". Oltványi's greatly dynamic personality, his unusual organising ability and talent was well exhibited in that especial preparatory and organising work, which, in an eventual result, has reduced to creation or to opening of the Museum in Baja in 1936. Oltványi was in Baja in 1935, and has met Ferenc Miskolczy, the artist, there. After that, at the request of Miskolczy, he has visited Dr. Ferenc Borbíró, the mayor of town. He has given the promise if the town could supply the appropriate place, then the town may receive, absolutely free of charge, collection of pictures consisting, at least, from 30 - 40 copies of picture which are representing works of modern fine art (30-s1 years). And then the works of such creators as Imre Amos, Róbert Berény, Géza Bornemissza, Tibor Boromissza, József Egry, István Farkas, Gyula Hincz, János Kmetty, Pál Molnár C., Jenő Paizs Goebel, Vilmos Perlott Csaba, József Rippl Rónai, Armand Schönberger, had got in the collection of fine art. Consequently, during collective work conducted by Oltványi and Ferenc Miskolczy, the collection of fine arts in the István Türr Museum was born from gift of the artists and collectors of fine arts, from town and official establishments, and also from donations of Baja's powers and private persons. And, probably, for this reason also, it has turned into such kind of collection, with a very wide scale, which was capable to show general and clearly definite picture of Hungarian fine art of 1930-s' years, with the true and valid proportion, from the point of view of history of fine art, and with truth. The István Türr Museum, during of selection of the collection of fine art, during of collecting of „teleological" copies of works on modern fine art, following spiritual traditions Imre Oltványi, constantly aspires to the saving of further especial „Oltványiwise" subjectivism in the collection itself, which sees Hungarian fine art of XXth century in especial cross section of the context. We try further to expand the contours of especial spirituality of the collection, from time to time, except extension of the store, as well by organisation of the seasonal exhibitions with demonstration of the creations of the modern artists of Baja in a 1998. Life of fine art of Baja town simultaneously carries in itself its animated past, its tradition transferred by right of succession and real anachronism features. It simultaneously represents either as Europeism, or as Hungarian national features, intellectuality and subconsciousness, it speaks simultaneously by voice of large civil cities and by voice of the inhabitants of BACSKA, furthermore, with a great degree of severity and energy of suggestibility. Contrary to general features of Baja's modern fine art, also two else distinguished from each other basic reasons; the directions are connected to our town. One group of the artists inspire mainly entertainment, visual experiences connected with Baja, with DANUBE, and the world of the river flood-lands at Baja. Other group its Baja's visual experiences connects to the spiritual programs connected to its town. For that reason, on the other side of perception and emotional creations of art, from a show, from a surface, from external layers we can penetrate into internal secret of things, in a direction of a spiritual kernel, and from appreciable realities we can achieve up to visible „truths". We have made an attempt, to make a sketch to the concentrated character of Baja's life of fine art, in July, 1998, associated even in its differences, with help of organisations of the seasonal exhibition under a title „BAJA and DANUBE - Confessions of Things and Pictures about DANUBE", where the artists of a small town were presented, who take important part in art, pedagogical and public life; and also the river Danube, determining whole life in BAJA, water town (except aspect of fine art, it was accepted in attention a point of view on ethnography). „Under common roof" we have collected together art creativity of three generations. Senior Sándor Éber and Ferenc Miskolczy concerns to the
