A collection of photographs of prominent figures in Hungarian and international political, economic and cultural life, with nearly 40,000 photographs of more than 15,000 individuals. They may have been taken in the studio or on a certain occasion, by professional, amateur or private photographers. About fifty daguerreotype portraits are a treasured part of the collection, including portraits of Lajos Kossuth. From the 1860s onwards, we have photographs of almost everyone who played a significant role in public life and had photographs taken of them in the studios of Angelo, Miklós Barabás, József Borsos, Ede Ellinger, Mór Erdélyi, Olga Máté, György Mayer, Dénes Rónai, Aladár Székely, Ferenc Veress, or had their feature captured by Oszkár Kallós, Gyula Jelfy, etc. Special items in the collection are photographs taken by Archduchess Isabella of her family members. The portraits of important figures of the last decades are preserved in photographs of Irén Ács, Demeter Balla, Károly Forgács, József Füles Tóth, Károly Hemző and Edit Molnár. Group portraits are also considered to be part of the portrait collection.
Contact Beatrix Lengyel, lengyel.beatrix@hnm.hu Tel.: +36 1 327-7784
Kossuth was a prominent political leader of the reform era, the civil revolution and the war of independence, who left the country on August 17, 1849 in a desperate military situation. His tour of the United States of America was intended to build up and supplement the political and financial foundations for further Hungarian struggle for independence. In Cincinnati, photographer Thomas Faris made a daguerreotype of him, a photograph on silver-plated copper plate.
Emil Rabending captured Queen Elizabeth in several photographs with his Irish wolfhound Horseguard. Considered one of the largest dogs in the world, he is originally a hunting dog, but despite his impressive size, he is a kind, gentle breed. He loves to snuggle up close to his owner and lie down next to him, as you can see in this studio shot. A special feature of the specimen in the National Museum is its large size.
Veress opened the first permanent photographic studio in Cluj-Napoca in 1853. He experimented with almost all the techniques of his time. Cyanotype was one of the non-silver photographic processes. In this case, the image is formed by light-sensitive irons. It was mainly used to copy plans. Ferenc Veress made photographs not only of himself but also of his family members using this technique.
Sitting: Lajos Haynald, Franz Liszt, Count Imre Széchényi, Albert Apponyi, Guido Karácsonyi, standing: Imre Huszár, Ödön Mihalovich, Baron Antal Augusz, Hans Richter, János Dunkl Nepomuk
On the 50th anniversary of Liszt's first performance in Pest, his admirers celebrated the world-famous musician with a festival lasting several days. Next to Liszt is Bishop Lajos Haynald, chairman of the organising committee, and in the background, with folded arms, is Hans Richter, conductor of Liszt's Christ Oratorio at the National Theatre.
Poet Ödön Palasovszky, one of the most colourful figures of the Hungarian avant-garde movement and activist theatre, was called the prince of the avant-garde in the 1920s, and later the forerunner of the beat poets by Sándor Weöres. His extraordinary portrait, which appeared on the cover of his 1927 book of poems Karmazsin (Crimson), was taken by József Pécsi, a renowned portrait photographer of the time and himself a representative of the avant-garde.
Károly Hemző's knowledge, precision and professional humility are still remembered by many. In 2010, the Historical Photographic Collection received thousands of vintage copies, negatives, slides and photographic equipment from the artist, including several excellent portraits. A series of photos of Flórián Albert, the only Hungarian footballer to win the Golden Ball, not only on the pitch but also in his home.
