Bela Kadar

Family, gouache on paper depicting a family of 7 in Cubist style and dark colors

c. 1940s

Béla Kádár was a Hungarian painter influenced by Der Blaue Reiter, Cubism, Futurism, Neo-Primitivism, Constructivism and Metaphysical painting. Born in Budapest on June 14, 1877, Kádár became a distinctive modernist painter whose career spanned several decades. Kádár began his studies in 1896 and for this, he traveled to Paris and Munich. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest and won the Kohner prize in 1910. Kádár's early works, which he began exhibiting in 1918, showed the influence of the Secessionists and Post-impressionists. In 1923, he exhibited with his friend Hugó Scheiber in Berlin at Walden’s Sturm Gallery and 57 of his works were shown. Der Sturm was one of the most important avant-garde galleries in Europe and Kádár continued to exhibit there for several years. Kádár traveled to the United States and stayed for a year. He exhibited with the Société Anonyme at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1929, he returned to Budapest to exhibit his works in his home country. Kádár was personal friends with Chagall, Picasso, Kandinsky and Kokoschka. Like his contemporaries, his style evolved through the decades of the 20th century. His subjects range from Hungarian legends, metaphysical, portraits and fanciful decorative themes. Kádár's place in the history of Modern Art has been assured by the publication of two books on his life and works. Kádár died on January 22, 1956, in Budapest.