Description
Paul Kovesdy (born Kövesdy Pál, 1923–2017), was an international art dealer and art publicist. In his youth, he performed as an opera and concert singer in Hungary, Europe (1945–1956), then later in the United States. He opened his first gallery in New York in 1964, under the name Continent Fine Art Gallery. At first, he would buy and sell contemporary French and Hungarian decorative works, but he soon switched to collecting the works of Hungarian modernist and early avant-garde artists, as well as the works of Russian and Eastern European artists. From 1972, his gallery operated under the name Matignon Gallery; in this era, he co-organised exhibitions with other galleries and museums. In 1975, he opened Kövesdy Gallery on Madison Avenue – New York’s “gallery center”. Works from the gallery’s collection appeared in several summary exhibitions of international significance. Many works in the Kövesdy Collection were transferred to international museums or collections; according to his will, a part of Kovesdy’s library was given to the Kassák Museum in Budapest.
The fonds contains a detailed biography, along with documents on Paul Kovesdy’s collection, art trade and network of connections, as well as on various artists and exhibitions. International correspondence with artists, art historians, art dealers, museums and universities. Kovesdy’s writings and thoughts on avant-garde and its survival, on Kassák, on Central Eastern European avant-garde in particular, on Bauhaus; the idea of founding a non-profit art organisation, along with its description.
