Béni Ferenczy

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Béni Ferenczy

Béni Ferenczy (1890 Szentendre - 1967 Budapest) was a Hungarian sculptor and graphic artist.

Born the son of Károly Ferenczy, he studied art in Munich and Paris where he studied with both Bourdelle and Archipenko His art became mature after he had returned from emigration in Germany and the Soviet Union.

After his experiences with cubism first and with expressionism later, his art evolved in sculptures with emphasized forms. While a highly talented sculptor he was one the most accomplished graphic artists in Hungary. of the period. He also illustared many books.

Ferenczy died in 1967.

[edit] Post death work and the role of Erzsi Ferenczy

Erzsi (Elizabeth), married Ferenczy, in 1932, until his death in 1967, remaining a close companion, and a constant inspiration for his work and a frequent model. Before her death in the year 2000, aged 96, she devoted the last thirty-three years of her life to keeping her husband's memory alive, establishing the Ferenczy Museum, containing the artwork of the entire Ferenczy family, in Szentendre in 1972.

In 1993, Erzsi established the Ferenczy Family Foundation. In 2005, the Foundation mounted a small exhibit at the Hungarian National Gallery to honour the memory of the artist and his wife. Curators Mária Földes and Ferenc Zsákovics selected the material from the small collection of works which Erzsi had kept to the end of her life. The interest of these sculptures, drawings and ceramics is mainly personal mostly paintings and sculptures of family and friends, and loose work such as preliminary sketches.