HENRIK MAJOR (Salonta 1895 - 1948 Provincetown, MA) Portrait of a man, 1914 oil/jute 37.8 x 30.5 cm signed Major Henrik, dated 1914 ESTIMATE °€ 250 - € 400 STARTING PRICE € 250 Henrik Major, born with the surname Marktbreiter and known under the stage name Sicu, was a Hungarian-American graphic artist and painter and, in particular, a caricaturist. He was the younger brother of the film director Dezső Major. He was born in Nagyszalonta/Großsalonta/Salonta, (then Hungary, now Romania) into a Jewish family as the son of the shoemaker Jónás Markbreiter and Terézia Pollák. Even as a child, he was distinguished by his drawings and humour. He studied painting and was a student of Károly Ferenczy at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. He published his first cartoons at the age of 19 on the front page of "Fidibusz". His drawings triggered a completely new trend in Hungary. He drew his drawings using either "Major" or "Sicu". Pilangó, Pikkólo, Krix-krax, Fules Ogoly, Bolond Istók, Eszkize and the leading humour newspaper Jankó Borsszem also published his drawings. There he became the midwife for the "Színházi Élet" (Theatre Life), founded in 1912, under Sándor Incze and his employed draftsman. In 1913 his books "Komédiások" and "Panoptikum" were published in the Tevan Library in Békéscsaba. In 1915, he had a solo exhibition at the Ernst Museum. As a speed artist, he appeared regularly in cabarets. Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War he was drafted into military service. In 1915. he was injured and taken to the Új-Szent-ános Hospital in Budapest. During his recovery he was allowed to paint and draw on the ward. He drew for the comic book Szamár, published in 1917, and later for the left-wing newspaper Aprilis (1918-1919). In 1919, after the fall of the Soviet Republic, Major emigrated to Paris in 1919 and earned his living with portraits. In 1921. he was invited to the Netherlands as a cartoonist for the Telegraph. From abroad he regularly published in Hungarian newspapers: Az Újság, a Pesti Mozi, Színházi Futár, a Színházi Élet, Röpke Lapok, Magyar Kabaré, Új Revü, Ma, Mozi, a Képes Újság, a Divat, a Heti Újság, a Társaság, a Rendkívüli Újság, Új Világ, Kis Újság. His drawings have appeared in the columns of Lantos Magazin, Új Idők, Tábortűz, Magyar Zsidó Almanach (Hungarian-Jewish Almanac) and Képes Vasárnap. He later published his drawings in London in the newspaper The Graphic; In 1925 he worked again in Amsterdam. In 1926 he went to America, where he worked as a political cartoonist in Hollywood. From 1926 he published frequently in Vanity Fair. That same year, he was received by President Calvin Coolidge and made a caricature of the president in the courtyard of the White House. In 1927, he portrayed Charlie Chaplin in New York. Major organised an exhibition and released an album of his caricature sculptures of prominent Americans. In 1948, shortly before his death, he greeted the readers of Pesti Izé from America, his former colleagues, and sent several drawings for the newspaper. His unexpected death was reported by leading American newspapers. Major Henrik's rapid work pace and tremendous productivity mean that the number of his drawings runs into the thousands. To this day, there is no catalogue raisonné. Further artists and styles: Béni Ferenczy, Endre Vadász, Tibor Hetényi, Tibor Gergely, Brigitta Videky, Maria Lazar, Zsigmond Cselényi Walleshausen, Geza Boross, Ibolya Csengery, Gitta Gyenes, Ferenc Erdély, Ilona Bereczky, Olga Székely-Kovács, Maria Barta, Alice Endresz, Jenö Szabados, Gyula Derkovits, Jozsef Rippl-Ronay, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Victor Vasarely and Vilmos Aba-Novak. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights. In the case of normal taxation (marked °), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax of 13%, for photographys 20%, is added to the sum of the highest bid and the buyer's premium. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.