Pálinkás, Béla (1880 - ?)

Painter, graphic artist. Béla Pálinkás enrolled in the Mintarajziskola art school in 1898 and won the school’s modelling prize in 1899. He studied to be a painter, and there are records of him studying in Simon Hollósy’s private school in Munich. His paintings regularly appeared in exhibitions in the Műcsarnok gallery and the National Salon from 1903 onwards. His first success as an applied artist was also down to his drawing ability: he won the postcard competition of the Applied Arts Association in 1902, leading to the Association purchasing six of his pictures of village scenes. Four of these are still known: On Hortobágyi, Dinner on Hortobagy, Village Sunday and At the End of the Village. He was then living in Zagyvarékas. The first furniture plans we know of date from 1902, when in the competition for kitchen furniture run by the Applied Arts Association he won second prize behind Ede Toroczkai Wigand. He then regularly brought out furniture designs, which appeared in exhibitions, and he published in the magazine Mintalapok (Design Drawings). In 1903, he began to design the decoration for Emil Fischer’s ceramic works, again using his anecdotal folk pictures. At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, he won bronze medal in the applied arts category. He also took part in applied arts exhibitions in Miskolc (1904) and Pécs (1907), winning a state silver medal at the latter. There is a record of a study he designed in blue-green stained oak, in 1909. His other work is the subject of research.