Judit Kaszab
better known as
Judy Cassab

AO CBE
From Cassab's scrapbook deposited in the National Library of Australia: With her baby son John in Budapest in 1945 Judy Cassab was happy to be reunited with her husband as the Germans were driven out
Born
Judit Kaszab

(1920-08-15)15 August 1920
Vienna, Austria
Died3 November 2015(2015-11-03) (aged 95)
Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Artist, writer
SpouseJeff Tomson
ChildrenJanos (John, 1945) and Peter (1947)
Websitejudycassab.com

Judy Cassab AO CBE (15 August 1920 – 3 November 2015), born Judit Kaszab, was an Australian painter.

Early years

Judy Cassab was born in Vienna, on 15 August 1920 to Jewish Hungarian parents. She began painting at twelve years old and began studying at the Academy of Art in Prague in 1938 but was forced to flee the German occupation in 1939.[1] Cassab worked in a factory under an assumed name and put her artistic skills to use after hours forging papers and passports.[2]

Her husband, Jancsi Kampfner, was put in a forced labour camp by the Nazis in World War II, and returned to Hungary in 1944.[1]

Cassab, her husband and two sons emigrated to Australia in 1951 and settled in Sydney.[2] Cassab became an Australian citizen in 1957.[2]

Career

Cassab was the first woman to win the Archibald Prize twice:

She held more than fifty solo exhibitions in Australia, as well as others in Paris and London.[5]

After Cassab's work was acquired by the National Gallery, she was interviewed by James Gleeson about how she captured people's character in their portraits. This interview later formed part of the James Gleeson Oral History Collection.[6]

Solo exhibitions

Awards and distinctions

On 14 June 1969 Cassab was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in "recognition of service to the visual arts".[7]

On 26 January 1988 Cassab was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) again in "recognition of service to the visual arts".[8]

On 3 March 1995 Cassab was awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) from the University of Sydney.[9]

In 2011 Cassab was awarded Hungary’s Gold Cross of Merit.[10]

Personal life

Cassab died on 3 November 2015 at the age of 95 in her nursing home in the Sydney suburb of Randwick.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Judy Cassab". Art Gallery NSW. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Kerr, Joan, 1938-2004; National Women's Art Exhibition (Australia); Kerr, Joan, 1938-2004 (1995), Heritage : the national women's art book, 500 works by 500 Australian women artists from colonial times to 1955, Art and Australia ; Roseville East, N.S.W. : distributed by Craftsman House, ISBN 978-976-641-045-2((citation)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Archibald Prize Winner for 1960, Art Gallery of NSW
  4. ^ Archibald Prize Winner for 1967, Art Gallery of NSW
  5. ^ a b "Two time Archibald Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Judy Cassab dies". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  6. ^ Coombes, Jennifer (2008). "Painted in words: the James Gleeson oral history collection". Artonview (54): 14–15. ISSN 1323-4552.
  7. ^ "Judy Cassab CBE". Australian Honours Database. 14 June 1969. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  8. ^ "Judy Cassab AO". Australian Honours Database. 26 January 1988. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  9. ^ "Citation for Honorary Doctorate". University of Sydney. 3 March 1995.
  10. ^ Niall, Brenda, 1930- (2007) [2005]. Judy Cassab : an Australian story. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74176-167-2. OCLC 707101844.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

Awards Preceded byWilliam Dobell Archibald Prize 1960for Stanislaus Rapotec Succeeded byWilliam Edwin Pidgeon Preceded byJon Molvig Archibald Prize 1967for Margo Lewers Succeeded byWilliam Edwin Pidgeon
Authority control databases
Categories