Gabor Peterdi: anguish writ large

Ann Shafer

Recently I saw a t-shirt that said “Don’t make me repeat myself. –History"

There is a lot going on these days. Between the pandemic, politics, and confronting America’s legacy of slavery and systemic racism, I am, as I’m sure you are, anxious. On top of that, as I write this, I’m riding out a hurricane in a cottage overlooking the very turbulent waters of Vineyard Sound. We all know this period is not unique. Humans have made it through more dire times than these. But still, we seem doomed to repeat our mistakes.

As I’ve written before, I really appreciate an artist who digs in and expresses the fears and worries of their time in a way that helps viewers process and think. Especially if the images read just as well in our time as in theirs. Gabor Peterdi was a Hungarian artist who worked at Atelier 17 in Paris in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War and leading up the second World War. Like so many of his compatriots, he created prints that address issues of social justice and crimes against humanity, sometimes using the bull and bull fights or mythical horses and man-animal creatures as stand-ins for humankind. One rarely finds any self-portraits among the prints made at Hayter’s workshop, but Peterdi is notable for a 1938 series of self-portraits in which he holds his head in his hands in despair. It’s hard to get the emotion just right in these kind of images, and I think Peterdi hits the nail on the head.

Like so many others, Peterdi made his way to America at the beginning of the war (remember, Europe was in turmoil for years leading up to the official declaration of war in September 1939). He enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought for his new country. No surprise, that experience finds its way into his work. Peterdi went on to have a long career both making prints and teaching printmaking. In addition to establishing the printmaking program at the Brooklyn Museum School, Peterdi taught at Hunter College from 1952–1960, and then at Yale University from 1960–1987. (Among his many students at Yale were Peter Milton and Chuck Close.)

In a previous post I wrote about artists making prints reacting to World War II in the years after its conclusion as a demonstration of that conflict’s lasting effect. I also wrote about artists writing about their own work and how I wish more artists would take the time to do the same. Peterdi’s The Vision of Fear, 1953, fits both categories. About the print Peterdi wrote: “My basic idea was to create an oppressive, enervating image haunted by fearful symbols of destruction. I tried to express a composite feeling of flying with deadly birds and watching them from below.” This print is interesting also because of the four additional plates he laid on top of the large plate as it passed through the press. The deep emboss accentuates their addition as does the red ink he used, making the crosses seem to fall from the sky.

I’ve included images here that I don’t mention because I think Peterdi deserves more attention and I love his sensibility. But I will note that Still Life in Germany is one that got away. I had been keeping my eye on it for years, waiting for the right time to pitch it. In the end, I ran out of time.

By the way, if any of you studied with Peterdi, I’d love to hear your stories.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Despair I, 1938
Etching and engraving
Plate: 266 x 197 mm. (10 1/2 × 7 ¾ in.)
Sheet: 448 x 315 mm. (17 5/8 × 12 3/8 in.)
Museum of Modern Art: Purchase, 146.1944

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Despair II, 1938
Etching and engraving
Plate: 245 × 206 mm. (9 5/8 × 8 1/8 in.)
Sheet: 304 × 269 mm. (11 15/16 × 10 9/16 in.)
Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.8

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Despair III, 1938
Etching and engraving
Plate: 315 x 248 mm. (12 3/8 × 9 ¾ in.)
Sheet: 452 x 340 mm. (17 13/16 × 13 3/8 in.)
Museum of Modern Art: Gift of the Artist, 103.1955

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Despair IV, 1938
Etching, engraving, and drypoint
Plate: 241 × 203 mm. (9 1/2 × 8 in.)
Sheet: 453 × 329 mm. (17 13/16 × 12 15/16 in.)
Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.9

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Despair V, 1938
Etching
Plate: 247 × 209 mm. (9 3/4 × 8 1/4 in.)
Sheet: 453 × 329 mm. (17 13/16 × 12 15/16 in.)
Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.10

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
The Vision of Fear, 1953
Etching and engraving
Plate: 651 × 933 mm. (25 5/8 × 36 3/4 in.)
Sheet: 749 × 105 mm. (29 1/2 × 41 1/4 in.)
Mutual Art

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Still Life in Germany, 1946
Engraving
Plate: 302 x 227 mm. (11 7/8 x 8 15/16 in.)
Conrad Graeber Fine Art

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
Hunter Hunted, 1947
Engraving
Plate: 394 x 368 mm. (15 1/2 x 14 ½ in.)
Annex Galleries

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001)
The Price of Glory, 1947
Engraving
Plate: 276 x 454 mm. (10 7/8 x 17 7/8 in.)
Sheet: 336 x 514 mm. (13 1/4 x 20 ¼ in.)
Dolan/Maxwell

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Despair I, 1938. Etching and engraving. Plate: 266 x 197 mm. (10 1/2 × 7 ¾ in.); sheet: 448 x 315 mm. (17 5/8 × 12 3/8 in.). Museum of Modern Art: Purchase, 146.1944.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Despair II, 1938. Etching and engraving. Plate: 245 × 206 mm. (9 5/8 × 8 1/8 in.); sheet: 304 × 269 mm. (11 15/16 × 10 9/16 in.). Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.8.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Despair III, 1938. Etching and engraving. Plate: 315 x 248 mm. (12 3/8 × 9 ¾ in.); sheet: 452 x 340 mm. (17 13/16 × 13 3/8 in.). Museum of Modern Art: Gift of the Artist, 103.1955.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Despair IV, 1938. Etching, engraving, and drypoint. Plate: 241 × 203 mm. (9 1/2 × 8 in.); sheet: 453 × 329 mm. (17 13/16 × 12 15/16 in.). Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.9.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Despair V, 1938. Etching. Plate: 247 × 209 mm. (9 3/4 × 8 1/4 in.); sheet: 453 × 329 mm. (17 13/16 × 12 15/16 in.). Yale University Art Gallery: Gift of James N. Heald II, B.S. 1949, 2011.148.10.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). The Vision of Fear, 1953. Etching and engraving. Plate: 651 × 933 mm. (25 5/8 × 36 3/4 in.); sheet: 749 × 105 mm. (29 1/2 × 41 1/4 in.). Mutual Art.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Still Life in Germany, 1946. Engraving. Plate: 302 x 227 mm. (11 7/8 x 8 15/16 in.). Conrad Graeber Fine Art.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). Hunter Hunted, 1947. Engraving. Plate: 394 x 368 mm. (15 1/2 x 14 ½ in.). Annex Galleries.

Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915–2001). The Price of Glory, 1947. Engraving. Plate: 276 x 454 mm. (10 7/8 x 17 7/8 in.); sheet: 336 x 514 mm. (13 1/4 x 20 ¼ in.). Dolan/Maxwell.