American Hungarian Library and Historical Society

06/20/2026

A few weeks ago, we welcomed Németh György for a lecture about three Hungarian photographers who each found their own vision of New York; André Kertész, György Lőrinczy, and Nickolas Muray. Three very different ways of seeing the same city.

Thank you to everyone who joined us!

06/16/2026

📚 New children’s books at the Library!

Come spend some time with the playful world of Krisztina Tóth. We now have Csavarogjunk együtt, Zenebona, Ültessünk, and Öltözzünk jelmezbe available at the Library.

Stop by, browse, and enjoy these new books with your little ones!

📚 Új gyerekkönyvek a könyvtárban!

Krisztina Tóth négy kedves kötettel érkezett a polcainkra: Csavarogjunk együtt, Zenebona, Ültessünk és Öltözzünk jelmezbe.

Látogassatok el a könyvtárba, lapozzatok bele az új könyvekbe, és fedezzétek fel együtt Krisztina Tóth játékos világát!

06/12/2026

Join us for an evening with Ágnes Anna Sebestyén, art historian and curator at the Hungarian Museum of Architecture in Budapest, for a presentation of her new bilingual Hungarian-English publication on the museum’s Marcel Breuer Collection.

The book explores the legacy of world-famous Hungarian-born architect and designer Marcel Breuer, including the museum’s recent acquisition from Breuer’s Cape Cod cottage and objects donated by Michael Szarvasy, a New York-based collector of Hungarian origin.

June 25 • 6 PM at the Library
Register here: https://www.hungarianlibrary.org/event-details/book-presentation

06/09/2026

András Gerevich is a Hungarian poet, author, and essayist whose work has been translated into more than two dozen languages, including English. He is one of Hungary’s few openly gay authors and has long advocated for q***r voices in literature and the arts amid an increasingly restrictive political climate. He is currently a Fulbright Visiting Professor of Poetry at Dartmouth College.

You can read some of his poems here:
https://www.lyrikline.org/en/authors/andras-gerevich

Visit his website:
www.andrasgerevich.com

Event info:
June 18 • 6PM at the library
Register here: https://www.hungarianlibrary.org/event-details/an-evening-of-poetry-with-andras-gerevich

05/23/2026

Hungarian Photographers in New York City explores the rich legacy of Hungarian image-makers who helped shape the visual culture of New York. At the center of the lecture are three key figures, André Kertész, György Lőrinczy, and Nickolas Muray, whose very different approaches reveal multiple visions of the city. Their work ranges from poetic street scenes and intimate observation to portraiture, fashion, and the energy of modern urban life. Alongside them, the talk also introduces other Hungarian photographers and cultural figures connected to New York’s artistic history. Their stories reflect migration, reinvention, exile, and creative ambition in one of the world’s great metropolises. Join us for an engaging evening of photography, history, and discovery.

György Németh is a Visiting Scholar at Quinnipiac University’s Central European Institute. Among other projects, he has been working on archiving and displayin the prolific art collection and personal papers of Francis F. Dobo, a Hungarian émigré who was a close friend of photographers André Kertész and Brassaï in 1930s Paris.

This program will be in English and Hungarian

May 28 | 6:00 PM

Register in our website!

05/08/2026

Headline: 🎬 Exclusive Discount for our Community!

We are thrilledIFC Centerr with to bring you a special offer for the new award-winning film "Blue Heron,"directed by the talented .

The Story: A millennial woman from a Hungarian immigrant family in Canada comes to terms with her parents’ difficult decision made about her troubled half-brother. It is a moving, intimate look at family, heritage, and the immigrant experience.

🎟 Get 15% OFF your tickets at IFC Center! ✨ Use Code: SOPHY-15 🔗 Book Here:https://www.ifccenter.com/films/blue-heron/

💡 How to apply the discount: After you hit "Buy Tickets" and before you select a ticket type, look for the black "Know a promotion code?" button. Click it and enter SOPHY-15 there to apply the savings!
Don’t miss this beautiful cinematic experience on the big screen!

🍂 Stay Tuned: We are hosting a live conversation with Sophie Romvari this fall. Follow us for more details soon!

04/21/2026

Ezxciting event! Check it out 📸

✨𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵: 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿é 𝗞𝗲𝗿𝘁é𝘀𝘇 𝗜𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 📸

Celebrate with us the Hungarian-born visionary often called the “father of modern photography,” at a book launch at the Consulate General of Hungary in New York.

📖 Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész — the first full biography of this groundbreaking artist — is finally here! Written by acclaimed writer, editor, and art historian Patricia Albers, the book vividly traces Kertész’s extraordinary journey from Budapest to Paris and New York, across the turbulence and beauty of the 20th century.

📆May 11 | 6:30 PM
📍Consulate General of Hungary in New York
227 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022

Patricia Albers will hold a presentation with Visiting scholar at Quinnipiac University, György Németh exploring Kertész’s artistic innovations, personal struggles, and lasting impact on photography as a medium of human connection and self-expression. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, offering the audience a unique opportunity to engage directly with the speakers. The evening will conclude with a book signing by the author.

To secure your copy in advance, you can purchase the book from:
✨Other Press (publisher)
✨Bookshop.org
✨Barnes & Noble
✨Amazon
✨at select New York bookstores, including Strand Bookstore, Rizzoli Bookstore, and 192 Books

Born in 1894 in Budapest, Kertész rose to prominence in Jazz Age Paris, endured hardship and obscurity in wartime New York, and ultimately reemerged into the global spotlight with a landmark 1964 retrospective at MoMA. A pioneer of Leica photography and subjective photojournalism, his emotionally rich images reshaped how we see—and feel—the world.

📚Drawing on deep archival research and dozens of interviews, Albers reveals the complexities behind the lens: war, exile, love, artistic rivalry, and resilience.

👉 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 & 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/everything-is-photograph-the-book-launch-of-a-biography-of-andre-kertesz-tickets-1987354910034?aff=oddtdtcreator

𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀.

03/28/2026

We had the pleasure of hosting Krisztina Tóth at the Library for a special author–reader evening, and what a memorable event it was. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet one of the most outstanding voices of contemporary Hungarian literature in person and engage in a thoughtful conversation about her work.

Thank you to everyone who joined us!