Cultural Studies paper by Fodor, Andrew (András) P.
Independent Scholar

Istvan Farkas, Painter, Books and Magazines Publisher, an Outstanding Representative of the Twentieth Century Hungarian and European Paintings and my Savior during the Siege of Budapest

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Istvan Farkas was an expressionist and a modern painter and also was the owner and director of a famous books and magazines publishing house in Budapest. He was a prominent painter in Paris, member of the Ecole de Paris during the interwar years. In his paintings of the 1930’s and 1940’s, he depicted an alien and a mysterious world full of ghostly figures, which could be understood as meditations on the frailty of the human existence. Some of his paintings were recalling his service in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. His mentor was the famous painter Laszlo Mednyanszky. Upon the death of his father in 1932, he assumed the leadership of his family’s prominent publishing company in Budapest, Singer & Wolfner. Publishing writers and artists like Ferenc Herczeg, Geza Gardonyi, Sandor Brody, Ignotus, Zsolt Harsanyi, Gyula Krudy, Lorinc Szabo, Lajos Posa, Karoly Lyka, Juliana Zsigray among many others. Also, he published the magazines “New Times” (Uj Idok) a literally journal, which catered to the, Hungarian middle classes, “Hungarian Women” (Magyar Aszonyok), and “My Newspaper” (Az En Ujsagom), a children magazine. The publishing house motto was: “Hungarian to the Hungarians” ( “Magyart a Magyarnak”). When the Germans occupied Hungary in March, 1944, Farkas was among the first ones arrested by the Gestapo. Some of his prominent friends who were close to Admiral Horthy, like the writer Ferenc Herczeg, tried to save him, but it was either too late or as the legend goes, he did not want to be saved. His life ended in the concentration camp. My own personal connection to him that I knew him quite well as a little boy, since my mother was his confidant and his personnel secretary. Both my mother and I survived the siege of Budapest during the Second World War, staying in his specially built, reinforced, concrete underground shelter during the biggest street fighting.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Andrew P. Fodor (Andras), Independent Scholar, “Deep Sea” consulting engineer, left Hungary after his participation as a cadet, in the 1956 Hungarian revolution. He has attended the University of California, Berkley on a WUS scholarship and received his engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of New York in 1969. He has also received a certificate and a degree from Columbia University and from Birbeck College, University of London. During his professional career he was stationed in London, England as his base, for over 10 years, working in various positions from Project Engineer to Chief Consultant. He has researched and designed undersea, deep water structures, offshore oil and gas platforms and sea bed mining facilities, concentrating on “sub-sea completion systems” all over the world. After his retirement, he continued work as a consulting engineer; also he has returned to his basic interests, literature and doing research on the history of science. In the last twenty years he has given lectures at various conferences: AHEA Conferences, Bolyai Conference and at various engineering meetings. Presently working on a literary book, covering his experiences, during the siege of Budapest, the 1956 revolution and the various seas and oceans around the world, where he has been working during his professional career. Andrew Fodor is a member of ASME, API, and NCIS (National Coalition of Independent Scholars).