American Hungarian Library and Historical Society

Hungarian Photographers in New York City explores the rich legacy of Hungarian image-makers who helped shape the visual culture of New York. At the center of the lecture are three key figures, André Kertész, György Lőrinczy, and Nickolas Muray, whose very different approaches reveal multiple visions of the city. Their work ranges from poetic street scenes and intimate observation to portraiture, fashion, and the energy of modern urban life. Alongside them, the talk also introduces other Hungarian photographers and cultural figures connected to New York’s artistic history. Their stories reflect migration, reinvention, exile, and creative ambition in one of the world’s great metropolises. Join us for an engaging evening of photography, history, and discovery.

György Németh is a Visiting Scholar at Quinnipiac University’s Central European Institute. Among other projects, he has been working on archiving and displayin the prolific art collection and personal papers of Francis F. Dobo, a Hungarian émigré who was a close friend of photographers André Kertész and Brassaï in 1930s Paris.

This program will be in English and Hungarian

May 28 | 6:00 PM

Register in our website!

Headline: 🎬 Exclusive Discount for our Community!

We are thrilledIFC Centerr with to bring you a special offer for the new award-winning film "Blue Heron,"directed by the talented .

The Story: A millennial woman from a Hungarian immigrant family in Canada comes to terms with her parents’ difficult decision made about her troubled half-brother. It is a moving, intimate look at family, heritage, and the immigrant experience.

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Don’t miss this beautiful cinematic experience on the big screen!

🍂 Stay Tuned: We are hosting a live conversation with Sophie Romvari this fall. Follow us for more details soon!

Ezxciting event! Check it out 📸

✨𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵: 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿é 𝗞𝗲𝗿𝘁é𝘀𝘇 𝗜𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 📸

Celebrate with us the Hungarian-born visionary often called the “father of modern photography,” at a book launch at the Consulate General of Hungary in New York.

📖 Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész — the first full biography of this groundbreaking artist — is finally here! Written by acclaimed writer, editor, and art historian Patricia Albers, the book vividly traces Kertész’s extraordinary journey from Budapest to Paris and New York, across the turbulence and beauty of the 20th century.

📆May 11 | 6:30 PM
📍Consulate General of Hungary in New York
227 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022

Patricia Albers will hold a presentation with Visiting scholar at Quinnipiac University, György Németh exploring Kertész’s artistic innovations, personal struggles, and lasting impact on photography as a medium of human connection and self-expression. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, offering the audience a unique opportunity to engage directly with the speakers. The evening will conclude with a book signing by the author.

To secure your copy in advance, you can purchase the book from:
✨Other Press (publisher)
✨Bookshop.org
✨Barnes & Noble
✨Amazon
✨at select New York bookstores, including Strand Bookstore, Rizzoli Bookstore, and 192 Books

Born in 1894 in Budapest, Kertész rose to prominence in Jazz Age Paris, endured hardship and obscurity in wartime New York, and ultimately reemerged into the global spotlight with a landmark 1964 retrospective at MoMA. A pioneer of Leica photography and subjective photojournalism, his emotionally rich images reshaped how we see—and feel—the world.

📚Drawing on deep archival research and dozens of interviews, Albers reveals the complexities behind the lens: war, exile, love, artistic rivalry, and resilience.

👉 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 & 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/everything-is-photograph-the-book-launch-of-a-biography-of-andre-kertesz-tickets-1987354910034?aff=oddtdtcreator

𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀.

We had the pleasure of hosting Krisztina Tóth at the Library for a special author–reader evening, and what a memorable event it was. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet one of the most outstanding voices of contemporary Hungarian literature in person and engage in a thoughtful conversation about her work.

Thank you to everyone who joined us!

Victor Vasarely (1906–1997), born Győző Vásárhelyi in Pécs, Hungary, was a pioneering artist and the father of Op Art, renowned for his geometric abstractions that create optical illusions through contrasting colors, patterns, and lines. After studying at Budapest's Podolini-Volkmann Academy and briefly at the Bauhaus-influenced Muhely workshop, he moved to Paris in 1930, where he worked as a graphic designer before fully embracing pure abstraction in the 1940s. His iconic works, like the "Vega" series, explore perception and movement, influencing Kinetic Art and earning him acclaim at documenta exhibitions in the 1950s and 1960s. Vasarely's philosophy emphasized art's democratic potential, leading to public commissions worldwide.

In 1972, Renault commissioned Vasarely, collaborating with his son Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely), to redesign its longstanding diamond-shaped losange logo, which dated back to 1925. This urgent project followed a 1971 prototype that plagiarized a supplier's design, sparking legal issues. The resulting emblem, a sleek, three-dimensional losange formed by interlocking white and black parallelograms, evoked speed, dynamism, and modernity through Op Art's illusory depth. Debuting on the Renault 5, it symbolized the brand's forward-thinking era, remaining in use until 1992 and inspiring subsequent iterations, including today's stylized version. This fusion of art and industry underscored Vasarely's belief in accessible, functional aesthetics.

Szeretettel várunk mindenkit Tóth Krisztina író-olvasó találkozójára az Amerikai Magyar Könyvtár és Történelmi Társulat olvasótermében! Itt a lehetőség, hogy személyesen találkozz a kortárs magyar irodalom egyik legkiválóbb alkotójával és kérdéseket tehess fel. A beszélgetést az író verseiről és prózájáról Bl**er Etelka vezeti.

Mar 19 - 6 PM

Register here https://www.hungarianlibrary.org/event-details/iro-olvaso-talalkozo-toth-krisztinaval-a-konyvtarban

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. To commemorate the occasion, the Library is launching a series of programs dedicated to 1956. In addition, we are preparing a special catalogue of our 1956-related publications.
We begin with a conversation on Hungarian emigration to the United States, with special focus on New York and the aftermath of 1956. Our guest speaker will be Dr. János Rácz, historian at the VERITAS Research Institute for History and Archives and specialist in 20th-century Hungarian history.
Moderator: Mihály Szarvasy, art historian and longtime supporter of Hungarian cultural life in New York.

The event will be in Hungarian.

The program is co-organized by Dr. Andrea Novák, Diaspora Diplomat and Consul.

Feb 28 | 2:00 PM

Register here: https://www.hungarianlibrary.org/event-details/1956-emigration-from-a-historians-perspective

Ahogyan nálunk is hallhattátok …

Saly Noémi: Dinnye- és gyümölcshulladék utcára hányása tilos A főváros kultúrtörténetéről számos könyvet író irodalomtörténész egy, az elsüllyedt Budapestről szóló kötetet választott a 21. század legfontosabb kiadványának.

congratulations to György Kurtág!

🎉 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐲𝐨̈𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐚́𝐠! 🎹

Today the musical world celebrates the extraordinary life of György Kurtág, one of the wonders and most influential figures in contemporary classical music. From his intimate piano miniatures to the monumental Stele, Kurtág’s work reveals a music of extreme compression and silence, distilling entire emotional worlds into fragments. We wish him good health and many more active years to come!

To mark the centenary, Müpa Budapest presents a special concert, with the composer himself in attendance. Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, Artist of the 2025/26 Müpa Season and a longtime interpreter of Kurtág's work, will perform central pieces from his oeuvre, drawing on selections from the album From Afar. The Danubia Orchestra, under the baton of Markus Stenz, completes the programme, illuminating the deep dialogue between Kurtág and Bach that runs through the defining moments of his musical legacy.

🌍 The concert will be broadcast live and free worldwide — no registration required — on the Müpa Budapest website at around 6:20 PM UK time. A rare chance to witness Kurtág's genius in real time: this livestream will not be recorded.

📌 Read our full article on György Kurtág via this link: https://culture.hu/uk/london/articles/kurtag-100---livestream-from-mupa-budapest and tune in to the the livestream here: https://mupa.hu/en/mupa-home/webcasts

Famous Hungarians: Robert Capa, born Endre Ernő Friedmann,(1913 – 1954)

‘He invented a style’: war chronicler Robert Capa refashioned himself and revolutionised photography A Paris exhibition showcases how the Magnum agency founder documented not just battle but also victims of war