Most of the paintings at the exhibition, at the Szolnok Gallery, are on loan from Imre Pákh, a Hungarian living in America who owns the largest private collection of Munkácsy paintings in the world. Pákh bought The Yawning Apprentice, which Munkácsy started painting in Düsseldorf in 1868, at an auction at Sotheby's two years ago. Pákh unveiled the painting in Hungary at the Night of Museums on June 25, 2005.
Pákh's loans have resulted in a number of highly popular exhibitions in the last several years, among them ones in Debrecen, Szeged, Békéscsaba, Kaposvár, Miskolc and Pécs. An exhibition of works from his collection shown at the Hungarian National Gallery attracted 360,000 visitors, breaking all records.
Pákh was awarded the Hungarian order of merit, officer's cross for his of his efforts serving "the wide scale promotion of art and the generous support of culture" at a ceremony in the spring of last year.
The Hungarian National Gallery, the Ottó Herman Museum of Miskolc and the Mihály Munkácsy Museum in Békéscsaba have also lent works for the exhibition in Szolnok.
In addition to the paintings, the exhibition will show Munkácsy's chair, his dressing gown, easel and other personal objects. It will feature many photographs too.
The exhibition runs until the end of April.
Source: Gabriella Valaczkay
