1895-1961
A French costume designer and illustrator of Hungarian-Jewish origins. After WWI he moved from his native Hungary to Vienna, Austria and then to Paris, where he was a student at the Academy Julian, living and working in the famous Latin Quarter. Vertes quickly established himself as a regular in the Paris art scene and his work became lighter and more lyrical.
In Paris he concentrated on illustration, painting and printmaking, especially lithography. In 1935 he made his first trip to New York to make contacts. Two years later he had his first one-man show in New York. When in United States he worked as an assistant to producers and set designers for 1952 ‘Moulin Rouge’. This collaboration won him two Academy Awards (Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design).
