Willy Pogány

William Andrew ("Willy") Pogany (born Vilmos Andreas Pogány) (August 1882 - 30 July 1955) is among the artists identified with the Golden Age of Illustration. He was a prolific contributor to both childrens' and adult books - providing illustrations depicting fairy tales, myths and legends to over 100 titles. His Art Nouveau influenced work is simply stunning. Departing from his native Hungary, Pogány lived in London for 10 years from 1906 - illustrating a number of books during that time, including "Faust" (1908) and the most elaborate of his numerous interpretations of "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám" (1909). That 1909 version of "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám" included calligraphy throughout and profuse sumptuous decoration in addition to the colour tipped-in plates. Prior to his emigration to the United States of America in 1914, Pogány also completed what are considered to be his masterpieces, with contributions to Wagner's trilogy of "Tannhäuser" (1911), "Parsifal" (1912) and "Lohengrin" (1913). Fabulous work followed his relocation to the United States of America, including his magnificent monotone work for "The Kasidah of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi" (1931), "The Light of Asia; or, The Great Renunciation (Mahâbhinishkramana) being The Life and Teaching of Gautama" (1932); and "The Song Celestial" (1934). He also worked as an art director on several Hollywood films, including Fashions of 1934 and Dames.