Mai Manó Ház - Photo Gallery

Who was Mai Manó?

He is one of the most esteemed and famous photographers in Hungary, an imperial and royal court photographer (1855-1917), the first owner of the Mai Manó house. A photographer was one of the best Hungarian representatives of children's photography in his day. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Fény Magazine.

In 1885 he worked with three or four assistants. His early reports were also preserved, about the demonstration against the 1889 defense force proposal, the funeral of Lajos Kossuth (1894), and Ferenc Kossuth (1894). In 1903 he also photographed Béla Bartók. He won royal recognition and a state silver medal at the Millennium Exhibition. He won a gold medal at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. His articles appeared in the Journal of Hungarian Photographers and in the Fény Magazine as well.

On the back of his paintings, he, like his colleagues, designed advertisements, with his own studio. The house was close to Andrássy street or as himself said: "Very near to Andrássy út".

His son Artúr Mai became an excellent engineer. On April 12, 1918, he inherited part of his father's house on Nagymező Street, and on the 21st of June, 1927, after his mother's death, he also inherited her part of the eight-story building. The house was made at Mai Manó’s request, based on his imagination. There was also a nightclub in the garden until 1944. After the war, the building served a variety of purposes, was a school, a showroom, and was used by the Budapest organization of the Hungarian Automobile Club for 30 years.

From 1996, the Hungarian Photography Foundation was able to buy out the rental rights from the tenants living inside. The Mai Manó Gallery was opened in 1995. To this day, the house is still home to various exhibitions and guided tours. On the website of the Mai Manó House you can get more information about the House, about the exhibitions and different programs.