Antal Anton Péczely

Antal Péczely, also known as Péczeli Antal Béla (* June 9, 1891 in Budapest; † December 4, 1960 in Budapest), was a Hungarian painter, graphic artist and teacher at a secondary school. He was baptized on 14 June in the Reformed Church on Kálvin tér. His father, Balázs Péczeli, came from Nagykőrös and was a machinist, his mother was Jolán Majsai. After attending primary and secondary school, he continued his education for four years from 1905 at the State Primary School Teachers’ College in Budapest. He then studied at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts under Aladár Edvi Illés and Imre Révész from 1909 to 1913. He initially worked as a drawing teacher in Budapest, but began painting in the 1910s and illustrated books on request. On January 20, 1917, he married Vilma Gizella Vásárhelyi, a private office worker, in Budapest.

From 1924 he devoted himself intensively to painting. In the 1930s, he worked alongside Imre Révész at the artists’ colony in Kecskemét. He had previously been involved in the founding of the artists’ colony in Gyula and took part in its first exhibition in 1928, where he showed several works together with seven other artists. His works were regularly exhibited at the Palace of Art (Műcsarnok) and the National Salon. Some of his works can be found in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Lviv Museum. He was also present internationally, with exhibitions in Nuremberg, Stockholm and Amsterdam. His last exhibition in Budapest took place in 1946. He particularly enjoyed painting scenes from village and inn life as well as church and room interiors. The majority of his works reached foreign countries during his lifetime via various trade routes, particularly the United States. He was also commissioned to paint oriental-inspired works. In the 1930s and 1940s, he lived with his family at 68 Frankel Leó Street (then Zsigmond király út) in Óbuda.

His death was caused by coronary thrombosis, gallstones and influenza. His son, the equally talented painter Antal Péczely Jr. was probably taken prisoner of war by the Soviets after the Second World War.