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László Moholy-Nagy

Hungarian artist (1895–1946)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ160448
Source-derived summary

László Moholy-Nagy (; Hungarian: [ˈlaːsloː ˈmoholiˌnɒɟ]; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts. The art critic Peter Schjeldahl called him "relentlessly experimental" because of his pioneering work in painting, drawing, photography, collage, sculpture, film, theater, and writing.

He also worked collaboratively with other artists, including his first wife Lucia Moholy, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Herbert Bayer. His largest accomplishment may be the Institute of Design in Chicago, which survives today as part of the Illinois Institute of Technology, and art historian Elizabeth Siegel called "his overarching work of art". He also wrote books and articles advocating a utopian type of high modernism.

Early life and education (1895–1922)

Moholy-Nagy was born László Weisz in Bácsborsód (Hungary) to a Jewish family. His mother was Karolin Stern, whose second cousin was the conductor Sir Georg Solti. László was the middle child of three surviving sons, but the family was soon abandoned by the father, Lipót Weisz.

The remainder of the family took protection and support from the maternal uncle, Gusztáv Nagy.

Editorial summary

“László Moholy-Nagy” enters the record as hungarian artist (1895–1946). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what László, Moholy-Nagy and Hungarian can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1895, 1946, 1922—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1895-07-20. Its strongest next move is a source search built around László, Moholy-Nagy and Hungarian.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“László Moholy-Nagy” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, László, Moholy-Nagy and Hungarian provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q160448. VIAF identifies the subject as 22203431. The Library of Congress control number is n79133790. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1946 and 1922.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “László Moholy-Nagy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow László Moholy-Nagy primary sources, László Moholy-Nagy archive and László research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from László Moholy-Nagy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.