William Penn Life, 2016 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-05-01 / 5. szám
Willy Pogány The Hungarian-born painter, illustrator and designer became one of America’s most famous and celebrated artists, beloved by children and sought after by the rich and famous Story & photos by Kathy Megyeri On a recent trip to Sarasota, Fla., to tour circus developer John and Mabel Ringling's mansion, Ca' d'Zan, I was most impressed with the ballroom's ceiling tiles painted by prominent Hungarian artist Willy Pogány. In the museum's book store, I purchased a volume of the complete illustrations of Pogány and was surprised to learn of his prolific output and the extent of his art in leading institutions throughout America. Born Vilmos András Pogány in 1882 in Szeged, Hungary, he spent the first six years of his life on a farm. Then his parents took him to Budapest to attend school where he originally enrolled in engineering studies at the Budapest Technical University, but he enjoyed painting and drawing so much that he decided to become an artist. He sold his first painting to a wealthy patron for $24. He then attended school in Munich, went on to Paris for two years, studied and worked in London for a decade, and finally came to the U.S. in 1914. He had garnered favorable reviews in 1906 for illustrating the story of "Rip Van Winkle" and went on to illustrate over 100 images for the "Welsh Fairy Book" by T. Fisher Unwin, thereby becoming known as a prolific illustrator of children's books. What endeared him to audiences were his pen and ink drawings of myths, fables and magical ani-12 ° May 2016 0 William Penn Life TOP: Pogány's self-portrait found inside the Ringlings' Florida mansion (pictured left). NEXT PAGE: A sampling of Pogány's work, both his pen and ink drawings and full-color children's book illustrations.
