The most successful among the projects of the Hungarian Museum of Photography, in which we present the Hungarian art-photography of the 20th century through 250 original prints, taken by artists, who have emigrated and acquired fame abroad, as well as by Hungarian photographers, who are yet relatively unknown around the world.
The exhibition took place in 13 different countries in the past five years, the catalogue was published in Hungarian, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Polish, Czech, and in Dutch language.

Hungarian photography is hallmarked by world famous artists such as André Kertész, Brassaï, Martin Munkácsi, Robert and Cornell Capa, György Kepes, László Moholy-Nagy, Éva Besnyő, Sylvia Plachy, Lee Friedländer, Lucien Hervé, Nicholas Muray, Stefan Lorant, Andor Kraszna Krausz, Francis Haár, Ergy Landau, Ylla, Ferenc Berko. These world famous artist were without exception Hungarians or of Hungarian descent, who emigrated from Hungary as adults. The history of photography of the twentieth century cannot be written without mentioning the names of Hungarian, or Hungarian descended photographers. Their knowledge of photography, their approach, their relation to the world were founded during the years they spent in Hungary, but they all became famous and acknowledged abroad.
At the same time many of their contemporaries remained in Hungary, who were possessed of the same motivations and roots, went to similar schools, finished similar preliminary studies, their skills and talent were no less than of those who left, but Hungarian (Central European) history condemned them to isolation, their fame could only extend into narrow confines. Does the world know of Angelo, an artist matching the quality of his contemporary Hugo Erfurth, or Székely Aladár, who soared beyond the ability of his teacher, Rudolph Dührkoop, or Pécsi József, probably the most innovative ad photographer of the twenties and thirties, or Bárány Nádor, Zajky Zoltán, who created unique works of art in the new positivist style not to be repeated. The best of Hungarian reporter photographers – Balogh Rudolf, Escher Károly, Müllner János – were as much in the center of things as Erich Solomon or Werner Bischof. And we have not even mentioned the best Hungarian students of the Bauhaus, Kárász Judit, Blüh Irén and those Hungarian socio-photographers who grouped themselves around Kassák Lajos. We believe some important and illuminating parallels offer themselves for a special juxtaposition in an exhibition of the story of Hungarian photography between 1920 and 1956.
Our exhibition selects from materials in the Museum’s collection the works of world famous artists of Hungarian origin with the works of those who stayed in Hungary, taking care that the tendencies inherent in the materials and the artists will complement each other. In addition to previously mentioned "stay-at-homes", we are featuring Kálmán Kata, Hevesy Iván, Rónai Dénes, Kinszki Imre, Vadas Ernő, Szöllősy Kálmán and Vydarény Ivan as well.

The 250 picture exhibition started on tour after its Hungarian debut in the Photo Museum. Its first stop was Arles, where it appeared as a highlighted event of the 29th Rencontres de la Photographie. Since the beginning it has been seen in the Hradsin of Prague, in Vienna, at the Collegium Hungaricum, in Milan in the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, in the Museum voor Fotografie in Antwerp in the Pamukbank Photography Gallery Istanbul, in New York, in the International Cultural Center in Kraków, in the Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, in Berlin, in the Musée de Montparnasse, Paris, in the Gemeentemuseum Helmond, in the Caja San Fernando in Sevilla as well in Jerez and in the Fundación ICO in Madrid.
The world-tour is accompanied by the joint publication of the Hungarian Museum of Photography and the Italian publishing house Federico Motte Editore in Hungarian, French and Italian, carrying the title of the exhibition as well the Spanish-English edition published by the Hungarian Museum of Photography with the Fundación ICO and the Caja San Fernando. The volume contains 250 pictures and relates not only the photographers’ biographies, but also Kincses Károly’s essay describing the historical background of this unique Eastern European phenomenon.