Lajos Markos

Lajos Markos
Born	1918 Budapest, Hungary
Died	1993 Houston
Nationality	Hungarian
Education	Royal Academy of Budapest
Known for	Portraits, Western (genre)s, Cityscapes

Lajos Markos (1917–1993) was a Hungarian-American artist. He trained at the Royal Academy of Budapest.

Career

He came to the United States following World War II and worked as a portrait painter in New York City, painting celebrities such as John Wayne, Robert F. Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan, and Pablo Casals. Lajos Markos completed over 2,000 portraits.

In the 1960s, he moved to Houston, Texas where he sparked an interest in Western American art. Examples of his work can be found in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the Zigler Museum in Jennings, Louisiana, as well as other museums and private collections. JP Morgan acquired his works, which are housed today at its main headquarters.

His portraits are scarce. He painted portraits of the 12 "Texas Immortals," which hangs in the Texas Commerce Bank in Houston, the "Siege of the Alamo," which hangs in the Texas State Capitol in Austin, and countless western paintings depicting the history of the cowboy era, which hang in private and corporate collections in the US and abroad. Paintings of Sam Houston, Robert E. Lee, and George S. Patton are in private collections.

Personal life

He married an opera singer and routinely played her music as he painted his portraits. Robert F. Kennedy assisted Markos in obtaining permission to return to his home country, behind the Iron Curtain, in the early 1960s. He was missing a thumb on his right hand due to an accident as a young man.

He is buried in Italy, near Udine, in his wife's hometown of Lavariano.

External links

• Antiques and Fine Art Lejos Markos. "Lejos Markos". Retrieved 2008-08-24.