Under a Tree

Elemír Halász-Hradil prints bring the villages, streets, people and wartime scenes of Central Europe around 1900 into your home. Halász-Hradil was a painter and graphic artist who trained in Munich and Paris, worked at the Nagybánya artists' colony and spent most of his career in Košice. Our collection of fine art prints covers his portraits and figure studies, rural and city scenes, views of Venice and Paris, and his drawings from the First World War.

About Elemír Halász-Hradil

Elemír Halász-Hradil (in Hungarian Halász-Hradil Elemér) was born Elemér Hradil in Miskolc on 18 April 1873. From 1892 to 1894 he worked as a sign painter and decorator in Vienna, then did military service in Levoča and Košice. In 1897 he began his art studies at Simon Hollósy's private school in Munich, and in 1902–03 continued at the Académie Julian in Paris on a scholarship from Count Dénes Andrássy, before two more years in Munich. He adopted the name Halász in the early 1900s.

He worked at the Nagybánya artists' colony from 1898 to 1900 and at the Szolnok colony in 1908, and in 1913–14 attended Gyula Benczúr's master school in Budapest. During the First World War he worked as a war artist, drawing soldiers, artillery positions and the people caught up in the fighting.

After the war he settled in Košice, where he painted, taught drawing at his own private school from 1919 and shared a studio with his friend Ľudovít Čordák. His pupils included Gyula Jakoby and Béla Kontuly. From 1924 to 1935 he led the fine arts section of the Kazinczy Society in Košice. He died in Košice on 9 December 1948.

Style and Subjects

Halász-Hradil's work combines the solid drawing of the Munich school with the plein-air light and naturalism of the Nagybánya painters. His portraits and figure studies are direct and sympathetic, and his scenes of villages, farmyards and city streets capture everyday life with lively brushwork.

His wartime drawings are quick and documentary, recording soldiers, refugees and gun positions, while his later work includes social subjects such as the unemployed.

Famous Works

• Portrait of the Artist's Wife. A personal portrait from his Košice years.
• Gypsy Caravans. Travelling families and their wagons.
• After the Retreat of the Russian Army (Group of Halič Jews). A First World War drawing of civilians in Galicia.
• Artillery Position on the Salvore Peninsula. A war-artist's view of a gun position on the Adriatic coast.
• Venice – Gondolas. Gondolas on the canals, from his travels.
• Street Bustle. A lively city street scene.
• Unemployed. A sympathetic picture of men without work.

Decorating with Halász-Hradil Prints

Halász-Hradil's village and winter scenes, like Winter in the Village, bring quiet, earthy colour to a living room or hallway, and suit traditional and Central European interiors. His Venice views add a travel note to a study.

His war drawings are best suited to a study or library, for those interested in the history of the First World War.

FAQ

Who was Elemír Halász-Hradil?

Elemír Halász-Hradil (1873–1948) was a Hungarian-Slovak painter and graphic artist from Miskolc who worked mainly in Košice, where he taught and painted for nearly thirty years.

Where did Halász-Hradil study?

He studied at Simon Hollósy's school in Munich, at the Académie Julian in Paris and at Gyula Benczúr's master school in Budapest, and worked at the Nagybánya and Szolnok artists' colonies.

Was Halász-Hradil a war artist?

Yes. During the First World War he worked as a war artist, and the store includes several of his wartime drawings.

Who was his friend Ľudovít Čordák?

Čordák was a Košice landscape painter who shared a studio with Halász-Hradil and exhibited with him in 1909 and 1912.

Related Artists

• Ľudovít Čordák: close friend who shared his Košice studio
• Gyula Benczúr: master in whose Budapest school he studied
• Vojtech Klimkovič: fellow Košice artist and teacher