Lajos Jámbor

Lajos "Louis" Jámbor (1884 – 11 June 1954)[1] was a Hungarian-American post-impressionist painter,[2] illustrator and background artist for animation. He is known for his illustrations for the book Little Women (1947 edition), and his symbolic and religious artwork found murals and as decoration in churches. He also created portraits for New York society.[1]

The native form of this personal name is Jámbor Lajos. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Lajos Jámbor
Born1884 (1884)
Nagyvárad, Kingdom of Hungary
DiedJune 11, 1954(1954-06-11) (aged 69–70)
New York City, New York, United States
Other namesJámbor Lajos, Lajos Jambor, Louis Jambor

Early life and education

He was born as Lajos Jámbor in 1884 in Nagyvárad, Kingdom of Hungary (today Oradea, Romania).[1] He attended the Hungarian Royal National School of Arts in Budapest.[3] After graduation he studied religious art in Italy and studied in Düsseldorf, Germany under Frank Gebhard.[3] Jámbor was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), before emigrating to the United States in 1923.[3]

Work

Painting and murals

Lajos Jambor was a muralist, with works in auditoriums, businesses, private estates, and churches of several cities of the United States, particularly Philadelphia and Atlantic City.[4] In 1925, Jambor, working with scenic designer and architect Joseph Urban, painted the patio murals and frescos for Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida.[5] Jambor painted large panels (circa 1929) above the proscenium in the Atlantic City Municipal Auditorium (now known as Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[3] Jambor had 26 murals painted (circa 1930) at the Hotel New Yorker at 481 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, including murals in the ballroom all of which were painted over in 1975 when the hotel purchased and remodeled.[3][6] Jambor created a 1938 mural based on Greek mythology located in the Latchis Memorial Building in Brattleboro, Vermont.[7][8][9] Jambor created work for the St. Stephen of Hungary Church in New York City, which included a painting of the stations of the cross.[10]

Jambor had been the president of the American Artists Professional League (AAPL) at the time of his death in 1954.[1] He formally served as president of the Salmagundi Club, former treasurer of the American Watercolor Society, and a member of Allied Artists of America, and Audubon Artists.[1]

Jambor's work is found in public collections including the Zigler Art Museum,[11] among others.

Illustration

Jambor illustrated two books by Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1947 edition, Grosset & Dunlap) and Jo's Boys (1949 edition, Grosset & Dunlap) and his work has been used in later reproductions of these books.

Animation

Jambor worked for Fleischer Studios as a background artist during the time of traditional hand-drawn animation cels, for the 1939 film Gulliver's Travels.[12]

Personal life

Jambor became a United States citizen in 1929.[1] He was married to Violet E. Czopjak-Jambor and he had two children, a daughter and a son.[1]

In 1934, Jambor had lived at Hotel des Artistes on West 67th Street.[13] At the time of his death he lived in The Colosseum building at 435 Riverside Drive in Manhattan, when this was still a private residential building.[1]

Controversy

Jambor's religious paintings have similarity to Warner Sallman, and scholarly writings allege Jambor appropriated Sallman's artwork and aesthetic.[14] Both artists depicted Jesus as a "strong character" with physical strength, however Sallman was attributed in statement about this as early as 1943, and Jambor was quoted in 1949.[14]

Death and legacy

He died at age 69 on June 11, 1954, at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan, due to a heart issue.[1] He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey.

Jambor's granddaughter, Katherine Violet Alexander created a five-minute video about her grandfather.[8]

References
  1. "LOUIS JAMBOR, 69, VERSATILE ARTIST; Portraitist and Mural Painter Who Also, Did Book, Film Work Succumbs Here". The New York Times. 1954-06-12. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  2. "Lajos (Louis) Jambor". Artnet.com. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  3. Goodenow, Rachel. "Artist Biography for Louis Jambor". AskArt.com. Zigler Museum. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  4. Major, Mark Imre (1974). American Hungarian Relations, 1918-1944. Danubian Press. p. 157. ISBN 9780879340360.
  5. Standiford, Les (2019). Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 9780802146458. he would bring Hungarian artist Louis Jambor all the way to Florida as well to paint frescoes on the extensive patio walls.
  6. "Louis Jambor". A New Yorker State of Mind. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  7. Shaw, Maddi (2016-10-06). "Latchis Theatre: Hidden in plain sight". The Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  8. Henke, Richard. "The stories behind the stories on the walls: Hidden In Plain Sight celebrates the vision of the Latchis family, and the artist that brought that vision to life". The Commons. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  9. Colson, Nicole S. (21 September 2018). "Happy 80th Birthday, Latchis!". SentinelSource.com. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  10. Harkay, Robert L.; Egyházközség, Szent István (1979). St. Stephen of Hungary Church, 1901-1978: A Chapter to the Ethnic History of New York City. Catholic Publishing Company. pp. 62–63.
  11. "Fine Arts Gallery". The Zigler Art Museum. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  12. Heritage Comics Auctions #815 Pini Collection Catalog. Ivy Press. 2005. ISBN 9781932899504.
  13. "APARTMENT RENTALS". The New York Times. October 2, 1934. p. 39. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  14. Morgan, David (1996). Icons of American Protestantism: The Art of Warner Sallman. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300063424.


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