Willy Pogány Rediscovered

Willy Pogány, Jeff A. Menges

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780486140018
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Monografías de artistas

Famed in the early twentieth century for his Art Nouveau–style depictions of episodes from mythology, Willy Pogány illustrated books for readers of all ages. This collection — featuring the best examples of design, illustration, and calligraphy from the artist's early career — returns a long-neglected master illustrator to the public eye.
The Hungarian-born artist studied in Paris and worked in London for a decade before his arrival in the United States in 1915. In addition to his successes as a muralist, set designer, and art instructor, Pogány illustrated more than 100 books. This is the first collection of his selected works, featuring many hard-to-find images that have been out of print for more than 80 years. More than 100 color and black-and-white illustrations include scenes from fairy tales and adventure stories such as Wagner's `Ring` cycle of Parsifal, Lohengrin, and Tannhäuser. Other sources of inspiration include a 1908 edition of Faust, Gulliver's Travels, and Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales.

THE PLATES

EARLY WORKS

1901—1909

Soon after attending school in Paris, Pogány worked on a title based on Wagner’s Lohengrin, but published it under the name Sarcadi Pogány. It has now become accepted as one of Pogány’s earliest books, and a sign of the direction he would take later in his career.

At this time in publishing history, the best and most decorative publishing work was coming out of London. Many illustrators that Pogány would likely have been compared to in theme and style were either just beginning or continuing lucrative careers there—and illustrators were in great demand. It seemed a logical place to pursue work, whether for an extended time, or as a springboard to other things. Pogány chose to remain in London for ten years, producing the highest volume of work in his entire career.

In 1907 he began concentrating on a number of projects for the British publisher, T. Fisher Unwin. This work brought his talent to the attention of the major British publishing house of George G. Harrap. In 1908, with A Treasury of Verse for Little Children, Pogány began a long and successful relationship that would later produce the books for which he is held in high esteem more than a century later. That same year, he produced his version of Goethe’s Faust, the first of his books to have as many as thirty full-color plates. The appearance of Faust instantly elevated him to a status equal to that of the finest illustrators in English publishing at that time.

Building on that success, 1909 brought the first of Pogány’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. This book was extremely popular in illustrated editions, and Pogány would do at least four separate versions in the course of his career. His 1909 edition, however, was a strong pr...