László Moholy-Nagy

Bácsborsod, 20 July 1895 – Chicago, 24 November 1946

After graduating from high school in Szeged, László Moholy-Nagy moved to Budapest where he enrolled as a student of law. Following the outbreak of war, he became a soldier in 1915 and was seriously wounded in battle. It was during his stay at the military hospital that he began to draw and paint. In 1919 he was forced to flee to Austria, where he became acquainted with Kassák. This contact proved to be decisive for his life’s future course. With Kassák’s  recommendation, he joined the Bauhaus in Germany. In Berlin, he met his first wife Lucia Schultz, from whom he learnt the techniques of photography. Aged twenty-six, he was asked by Gropius to teach at the Bauhaus; he helped to develop the theoretical programmes and image of the school. With his extensive photographic experience and theoretical knowledge, Moholy showed how it was possible to go beyond narrower compositions and use other means (such as light, shadow, space, mass, colour, and drawing) to expose new content. He was one of the first photographers to experiment with the photogram. He regarded the conscious application of photo-montage as a means of portraying reality in a novel manner. With the rise of fascism in Germany, he moved abroad. In 1937, he settled in Chicago (once again at the invitation of Gropius), where he helped to establish the New Bauhaus. When the New Bauhaus was dissolved, he established his own School of Design, which became the College of Design in 1944. He led the college until his premature death.