Imre Varga Collection

Óbuda & Buda Hills


This branch of the Budapest Gallery includes sculptures, statues, medals and drawings by Imre Varga (b 1923), one of Hungary’s foremost sculptors. Like others before him, notably Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl, Varga seems to have sat on both sides of the fence politically for decades – sculpting Béla Kun and Lenin as dexterously as he did St Stephen, Béla Bartók and even Imre Nagy. But his work always remains fresh and is never derivative. Note the fine bust of Winston Churchill (2003) near the entrance.

A very short distance to the southwest of the museum, you’ll see a group of outdoor sculptures by Varga. They portray four rather worried-looking women holding umbrellas in the middle of the street.