In the long term it is my intention to write a book about Willy Pogany. I have done quite a lot of research & have a good collection of his books & magazines. As time allows I will post information about him, I would be delighted to hear from anyone with a good knowledge & interest in this wonderful artist. Much more later.
Many of the stories about Willy Pogany are not true, whether he promoted these days I do not know. I have been told that he was very dismissive of enquiries into his past.
To my mind the great mystery is how did he get his first UK commission? It is said that he arrived in Britain with a letter of recommendation from the great Orientalist, Arminius Vambery. But why would such a letter get him a commission to illustrate a book? Communication with the publishers was not very good because they credited the illustrator as 'Sarcadi Pogany' rather than 'Willy'.
It would seem reasonable that he had produced some striking commercial work during his earlier years in Hungary, Germany & France. A few books have turned up but nothing especially remarkable, certainly nothing good enough to persuade a British publisher to commission a book from him.
The decade Pogany spent in London was a time of great achievement & he seems to have acquired a wide and distinguished circle of acquaintances. It would be very interesting to hear from anyone who can fill out this period of his life.
