AMERICAN HUNGARIAN LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Amerikai Magyar Könyvtár és Történelmi Társulat
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE
The $15,000 Restoration Challenge
The Hungaria Nostra Foundation of Los Angeles has generously awarded the AHLHS a $7,500 matching grant.
To unlock these funds, we must raise an additional $7,500. Every dollar donated today will be matched 1 to 1, thus doubling your contribution to ensure that the masterworks in our care are restored for future generations.
“ To preserve the past to gift the future.”
Our library is more than a repository of books; it is the steward of a unique art collection that tells the story
of the Hungarian cultural bridge between Budapest and New York. Support the preservation of the American Hungarian Library and Historical Society (AHLHS) art collection. These artworks were seized by the U.S. government and acquired by the AHLHS in 1955, when the Society was partly established to preserve and safeguard this important Hungarian cultural heritage.
The Women Artists of the Riverside Museum (1939)
In October 1939, as war began to consume Europe, a landmark exhibition titled “International Women Painters, Sculptors, Gravers” opened at the now-defunct Riverside Museum in New York. The Hungarian section featured works by pioneering women artists whose voices were nearly forgotten by history.
Józsa Jaritz, Under the Big Tree
The Struggle for Survival:
After Hungary’s entry into WWII, these works were confiscated by the U.S. Office of Alien Property Custodian.
Collection highlights:
• Paula Porter, Austrian Girl
• Józsa Jaritz, The Sisters, Under the Big Tree
• Erzsébet Loránt, Skating
Paula Porter, Austrian Girl
Erzsébet Loránt, Skating
Alice Endresz, Flowery Meadow
Józsa Jaritz, The Sisters
Ernestine Lohwág-Szablya,
Hungarian Girl, Kaltotaszeg
The 1939 New York World’s Fair: “The World of Tomorrow”
The 1939 World’s Fair was a beacon of hope and modernity. The Hungarian Pavilion was a masterpiece of national pride, showcasing the country’s artistic achievements during the inter-war years.
Pál C. Molnár, Holy Family
Historical Significance: These pieces were intended to show the “World of Tomorrow” to the American public. Today, they serve as a vital link to a pre-war Hungarian identity that we are determined to keep alive.
Treasures from the Pavilion:
The AHLHS preserves significant artifacts and paintings originally exhibited at the Fair, including:
• Vilmos Aba-Novák, Merrymaking in the Village
• Pál Molnár C, The Holy Family
Vilmos Aba-Novák, Merrymaking in the Village
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HOW YOUR CONTRIBUTION MAKES AN IMPACT
Our Mission: These paintings represent the talent of Hungarian artists who were active during the inter-war years in Hungary, and whose creativity is finally beginning to be recognized.
Your support will enable a proper restoration to clean, stabilize, and re-frame these works for exhibition in New York.
PROFESSIONAL RESTORATION
Expert conservation of oil paintings that have suffered from age and environmental damage.
SCHOLARLY STUDY
Funding documentation regarding the provenance and historical significance of the collection.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION
Creating a public showcase at the Hungarian House in New York City to display the restored works.
BE PART OF
THE STORY
Help us reach our $7,500 goal to secure the Hungaria Nostra match.
Donate Online: Click here!
Donate by Mail: American Hungarian Library and Historical Society 215 East 82nd Street, New York, NY 10028
* The American Hungarian Library and Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law (EIN: 13-1820182).
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE
We are thrilled to announce that we have secured a $7,500 matching pledge for the restoration and study of our unique art collection, including a catalogue and special exhibition. To complete this initiative and make the artwork accessible to the public, we still need your support.
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Cover the cleaning of a painting
$200
Basic restoration
$500
Full restoration and cleaning of a painting with minor damages
$750
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$2,500
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