Edita Ambrušová (née Kolečányiová; 30 October 1920 – 9 March 2015) was a Slovak painter and illustrator. Ambušová was born on 30 October 1920 in

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

. She studied painting at the

Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU) () is the biggest and oldest university of technology in Slovakia. In the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities it was ranked in the first 150 in Computer Science, the only university in ...

under the supervision of Martin Benka. In 1943 she moved to Vienna where her husband the art historian Jozef Ambruš managed to find a job. In Vienna, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. When the fighting got closer to Vienna, the family was evacuated to

Windischgarsten Windischgarsten is a municipality in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Since 1964, the town has been classified as a Luftkurort, a mountain spa town. Geography Windischgarsten lies in the Traunvie ...

and eventually returned to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

. Back home Ambušová picked up book illustrations to support her family. The most well-known are her illustrations produced for the Slovak translation of ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a 1937 novella written by American author John Steinbeck. It describes the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant worker, migrant ranch workers, as they move from place to place in California ...

'' by

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

. In her painting, Ambušová focused on monumental religious motives as well as intimate perceptions of her surroundings. She produced

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

for the St. Emmeram's Cathedral in

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

as well as a large-scale tapestry depicting the life in

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

. She also produced many depictions of saints from Slovak history in collaboration with her daughter, Johana. A large collection of secular paintings by Ambrušová is on display at the

Slovak National Gallery The Slovak National Gallery (, abbreviated SNG) is a network of galleries in Slovakia. It has its headquarters in Bratislava. The gallery was established by law on 29 July 1949. In Bratislava, it has its displays situated in Esterházy Palace (' ...

. Ambrušová died on 9 March 2015 in Bratislava. She is buried at the cemetery in the Vrakuňa burough.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrusova, Edita 1920 births 2015 deaths People from Ružomberok Slovak women painters 20th-century Slovak painters Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava alumni 20th-century women painters