Zsuzsi Roboz (15 August 1929 – 9 July 2012) was a London-based Hungarian painter known for her portraiture paintings and

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s of the arts. Her work is in public galleries including the

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

and The National Portrait Gallery.

Early life

Zsuzsi Roboz was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Her father, Imre Roboz, was the manager of the

Comedy Theatre of Budapest The Comedy Theatre of Budapest () is a theatre in Budapest. Starting in the late 19th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theatre, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of the oldest theatres of the city st ...

( Vígszínház theatre), which specialised in

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the ope ...

. Her mother, Edith Roboz, was a society hostess. As an only child, Roboz was raised largely by governesses and saw relatively little of her parents, but enjoyed spending time with them whenever their busy lives would permit. The Sunday morning walks with her parents were a happy memory for Roboz as they were among the few times she could really talk to her parents, especially her father. During the 1930s, Roboz felt a change in Hungary as right-wing ideas became more prominent, especially with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invading Hungary's former sister state

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1938. Eventually, the liberal arts fell out of favour and Roboz's father, Imre, was deprived of his job which resulted in him handing it over to a friend, writer Harsanyi Zsolt. It was soon necessary for Imre to go into hiding, shortly followed by Roboz and her mother being moved to a separate accommodation. They heard very little of Imre and was eventually declared dead, although his body was never found. According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', after the occupation of Hungary Imre was eventually forced to a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

where he had been reported dead. However, different articles state different causes of Imre’s death, no one is certain of how he actually passed. Zsuzsi and her mother were hidden by a neighbour and eventually crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

where they were rescued by the Americans. After the war, the pair moved to France as her mother had remarried a Frenchman, but Zsuzsi found life in France difficult and left for secretarial school in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at the age of seventeen. After arriving in London in 1947, she worked for an old friend of her fathers,

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

, an active and well-known figure in cinema, as a typist and occasional dinner guest with celebrities such as

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

. It was during this time that Roboz attended art classes at the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

under the supervision of Peter Greenham, and would later catch the eye of

Pietro Annigoni Pietro Annigoni, OMRI (7 June 1910 – 28 October 1988) was an Italian artist, portrait painter, fresco painter and medallist, best known for his painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. His work was in the Renaissance tradition, contrasting ...

. She later left to study in Italy as Annigoni’s pupil and upon returning to London after the year was up, she was considered a “brilliant draughtsman.”

Career

Roboz was best known for her portraits of dancers, musicians and writers. While she may be known for her portraits and could have built a grand clientele based on her work, Roboz had other interests and passions as well. Roboz regarded “herself as a painter who sometimes painted portraits, rather than a specialist in the genre.” These other interests included series on music and the ballet. Yet it was for her talent as a portrait painter that she commissioned to do a series of portraits for the 10th anniversary

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

where her second husband, Alfred T. (Teddy) Smith was employed in the early 1970s. After her second independent show, she caught the attention of Jacques O’Hana, an art dealer from Mayfair who took her on as a recurring artist. Although she had become relatively well known in the art world, she still wanted to further her artistic skills and travelled thoroughly, from places like the

Dalmatian Coast Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia, th ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. By the mid-1990s, she developed a symbolist style which can be seen in her series ''Spirit of Nature''. Her symbolist style can also be seen in her final series, ''Face to Face'' (2011), a portraiture series of British and Irish writers that went beyond realism. The series was dedicated to not only showcasing these writers but capturing their creative aura to celebrate their works that made them who they are. Among her other stylistic choices, Messum’s describes her work as ranging from “sensual drawings to oils which hint at the surreal absurdity of life’s experiences.”

Exhibition highlights

1956 Commissions from Sir Alexander Korda of Claire Bloom and Mary Ure, the beginning of a series of portraits of his contract artists. 1958 Solo exhibition at the Walker Galleries, London. 1960 Solo exhibition at the André Weil Gallery, Paris. 1963 Solo exhibition at the Upper Grosvenor Gallery, London. 1963 Commissioned to paint Barnwell Manor, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, as a gift to the late Prince William of Gloucester, establishing a long-standing association with the family. 1964 Invited by Sheila Van Damm, owner of the Windmill Theatre, to work backstage to capture its “last days”. 1965 Exhibition of the Windmill drawings at the Upper Grosvenor Gallery, London. 1967 Solo exhibition at the O’Hana Gallery, London. 1968 Solo exhibition at the André Weil Gallery, Paris. 1970 Solo exhibition at the O’Hana Gallery, London, in conjunction with the publication of her first book, Women and Men’s Daughters. 1973 Solo exhibition at the O’Hana Gallery, London. 1975 Publication of “Chichester 10, Portrait of a Decade”. 1976 Solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Began sketching backstage at the ballet. 1977 Solo exhibition of lithographs at the Curwen Gallery, London. 1978 “Revuedeville” exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, of the Windmill sketches and lithographs, now in the Museum’s permanent collection. 1979 Commissioned by the Theatre Museum of the Victoria & Albert Museum to do a theatre card of ballet movements. Solo exhibition of large drawings of the ballet at the Hamilton Gallery, London. 1980 Solo exhibition of paintings at l’Horizon Gallery, Brussels. Publication of “British Ballet Today”. “Moments of Life” exhibition at the Patrick Seale Gallery, London. 1981 Solo exhibition at the Piccadilly Festival of Arts, London. Commissioned by H.R.H. Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, to draw her portrait on the occasion of her 80th birthday. 1982 Portrait of Dame Ninette de Valois enters the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Portraits of Sir Frederick Ashton and Lord Olivier enter the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert’s Theatre Museum, London. 1983 “Drawn to Ballet” solo exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, London. 1984 Invited by Hungary’s Minister of Culture to be a guest of honour at the Spring Festival in Budapest. Three life-size drawings of the ballet purchased for the permanent collection at the Royal Festival Hall. Solo exhibition at Quinton Green Fine Art, Cork Street, London. Exhibited at the Bath Festival of Contemporary Art. 1985 Solo exhibition during the Spring Festival at the Hungarian State Opera’s Erkel Theatre, Budapest. Painting of Antal Doràti is presented by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for permanent display at the Royal Festival Hall. 1987 Exhibition at the Dyansen Gallery, Los Angeles. “Music Makers” solo exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, London. 1988 Solo exhibition during the Spring Festival at the Vigado Gallery, Budapest. 1989 Solo exhibition at the Lincoln Center, New York. 1991 Exhibited at ICAF, London. 1992 Portrait of Lucian Freud exhibited at the Royal Academy, London. 1993 Solo exhibition at Art 93 at the Business Design Centre in conjunction with the publication of her book, “British Art Now”, text by Edward Lucie-Smith and published by Art Books International. 1993 Solo exhibition at The Mall Galleries. 1994 Solo exhibition at The Roy Miles Gallery. 1995 Spirit of Nature Exhibition – solo exhibition at The David Messum Gallery, Cork Street, London W1. 1997 Solo exhibition at The David Messum Gallery, Cork Street, London W1. 1999 20th Century Illusions – solo exhibition at The David Messum Gallery, Cork Street, London W1. 2000 Solo exhibition at Messum’s, Cork Street, London W1. 2002 Solo exhibition at Messum’s, Cork Street, London W1. 2005 Solo exhibition at Messum’s, Cork Street, London W1. 2008 Solo exhibition at Messum’s, Cork Street, London W1. 2011 Solo exhibition at Messum's, Cork Street, London W1.

Death and legacy

Roboz died at the age of 82 on 9 July 2012 after a long and passionate career. She is remembered as being of “sparkling company,” incredible warmth, education and modesty. Her legacy lives on via the academic and art world through museums such as the

, The National Portrait Gallery in London, Messum’s Fine Art,

The Theatre Museum The Theatre Museum (TTM) is located at 30 Worth Street in Manhattan, New York City. Its mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre, including Broadway theatre. The Theatre Museum continues the legacy of The Broadway T ...

, and the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

. Her legacy also continues in education through the Zsuzsi Roboz scholarship at

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

in London. The scholarship is a registered charity that is dedicated to preserving and restoring Roboz’s work and organizing public viewings across

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Early life

Career

Exhibition highlights

Death and legacy

References

External links