Emil Lindenfeld Biography
Emil Lindenfeld was born in 1905 in Hódmezővásárhely in Hungary. He began his artistic studies under the supervision of János Tornyai, a 20th century Hungarian master. At the age of 15, the city held an exhibition of his paintings in the local cinema.
In 1926, at the age of 21, he moved to Milan. He began painting large numbers of massive compositions of workers, idyllic pastoral landscapes, sensual nudes, and peasants in the field. His most dramatic theme was the life of the miner. He also painted the lagoons of Venice, tired people resting on park benches, portraits of Christ and the Crucifixion. Exhibitions were held in increasingly prestigious galleries and his work was shown in as many as three or four shows a year. During World War II, Lindenfeld lost his studio, along with all his belongings, in a bombing raid. He spent the next few years in a small high mountain village called Asiago. During this period, he created several large compositions, mountain scenes, landscapes and depictions of the life of the local people. After returning from a life in the mountains, he began exhibiting his new paintings. In 1946 he was elected councilor for Italian art. In 1956, the same year as the Hungarian uprising, he decided to move to New York. Lindenfeld was invited to exhibit with Frank Lloyd Wright at the New York Coliseum. He exhibited 150 paintings. Lindenfeld himself organized numerous exhibitions and enriched several American museums with his paintings. Throughout his long career, he tirelessly sought new ways to express himself and his fantasies. In the last phase of his life, his paintings were perhaps the most revealing of his true self. It came so naturally to him that he often played and sometimes joked with his brushes. It was the most peaceful, happy and colorful time of his life.
Lindenfeld died at his home in 1986.
