Poughkeepsie Journal from Poughkeepsie, New York • Page 1C

1 1 ta Artists i iBBb Kenew 4 ByHfiLENMYER I i rC iit i ft i i Ti 11 1 i.j. 1. vw uiv iuuu projecu uie extensive rcnwaeung ana nitaonOni of he Poughkeepsie Journal building has been tha renewal of tha murals which line tha large oral lobby. This work was completed early this month by tha artists who painted them In 1042, Andrew B. Karoly and Louis P.

Szanto. Tha murals, as you probably remember, 'gvs1 a pictorial hlitory of tb arts, crafU, Inventions and men 'contributed the most to the making of modern newspaper, THE WORD, RENEWAL 1 used deliberately, for the arista did much mora than restore tha original paintings. They replaced one panel with an entirely new 'one. Tney replaced the entire frieze, and they cleaned and retouched the other panels. Then they coated all, tha new! and the original pictures, with a mat varnish.

"The varnish will do two things," Mr. Karoly said. "It will unify tha paintings, and it will preserve them for 23 or 30 years "We are trying to give the paintings back to you in their original strength and beauty, as they were 20 years ago," Mr. Szanto said. "They have suffered'a great deal," Mr.

Karoly said, "from what you might call an ink mist from the composing room and the 'press It comes through the ventilating system and settle on tha paintings. This ink mist is quite dangerous to the paintings because It contains grease and certain acids." THAT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE of the cooperative way In which tha two artists speak, apparently the result of 32 years of cooperative work on murals They have no idea of the total number they have painted in that period, except that it must be "more than 100," They have been working, together; out of the same studio at West 74th street, since a short time after they came jo this, country together in 1928. Both were born in Hungary, Mr. Szanto. in Budapest, and Mf.

Karoly in a small town which is now in Czechoslovakia. Each earned a B.A and a A In Hungary. "LOUIS WAS AN established artist, a very fine portrait painter, when I was just spreading my wings As a landscape painter," Mr. Karoly said. "He was a court painter He painted King Charles of Austria Hungary, the prime minister, others of the ruling families, Mr.

Szanto said He was a member of the French, academy and exhibited in Paris All this was in the 1920s The two artists met about 1922 and began traveling together whenever they had saved a little money They had traveled extensively in Europe when they decided in 1928 to come to this country and "see what was going on in America It was to be just another trip They didn't expect to stay Mr Szanto had a commission to paint a portrait of Rear Admiral George Collier Remey which now hangs in the State house In Iowa That led to other commissions He was invited to go to Wilmington, Del to paint two young men of the du Pont family, then John Raskob, at that time an officer of E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co Inc MR. KAROLY WAS busy, too, so the two artists decided that they'd be here long enough to take a studio jointly They painted their first cooperative mural, four large pictures, for Loew's theater in New York City That was so successful, they said, that they were "swamped with theater orders," for Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, among others Between 1928 and 1931 they painted murals in about 10 theaters in New York City and other parts of the country Originally they were here on a one year temporary visa. When the year was up they received a three year extension to continue work on their murals After that they didn want to go home They became United States citizens in 1937 BY THAT TIME they had painted murals in hotels, libraries, business offices as well as theaters, and Mr Szanto was still painting portraits, too "There were so many portraits," he said, "for Delaware university, Ohio university, society portraits Yes, some were more interesting than others I did portraits until three years ago, when we became too busy with our murals Eugene T.

Benham, the architect of the Poughkeepsie Journal building, saw some of the artists' Cleveland murals and decided that they were the right ones to do the paintings here. "WE SUBMITTED a design showing the history of the Hudson river in fables and stories first," Mr Karoly said. "There was a feeling that a history of printing and publication would be preferred, so we did another on that No We never used the Hudson river pictures." The Poughkeepsie Journal murals begin north of the maul entrance door with a painting of a 13th or 14th century monk copying and illuminating a page of the Bible A completed page Is drying IN THE SECOND panel Johann Gutenberg examines a printed sheet of the Bible which has just come from the first press with movable type in the 15th century A typesetter works in an alcove which is eft a higher level, over the door to the classified advertising department, and an ink boy at bis side pauses in his work of crushing pigments to catch a glimpse of the printed, page The fourth panel is around and above the switchboard This is a late 15th century scene, showing William Caxton and his assistants at work on the first book printed in England "Queen Elizabeth permitted Caxton to set up bis printing press in Westminster Abbey," Mr Karoly said. "That was important, because the nobility had taken no interest in printing until this tune There they watched him at work." THE NEW PAINTINa Is over the doorway at the back of the lobby It shows the printing of the first newspaper in the world in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1605 The press has a printing roller It was the first to use a roller, Mr Karoly said Earlier ones were all vertical table presses A bright window in the background seems to let sunlight into the lobby "That replaces a cartouche," Mr Karoly said of the picture. "A cartouche is an ornamental design.

It has the feeling of an emblem The new painting is the first thing a visitor sees when he enters the building He used to see a tablet in which he wasn't interested at all THE LARGEST OF the panels is on the north side of the unsupported spiral staircase to the second floor In it are ,23 major figures closely identified with newspaper history and 15 auxiliary ones, printers, assistants, newspaper boys In the upper background is the view from the top of the Poughkeepsie Journal building, houses, churches, ths two bridges across the Hudson, and finally the Ulster county bills "There are far more buildings now than there were when we were here 20 years ago," Mr Karoly said "No No. We didn't put the new ones in." Benjamin Franklin stands by the press on which he printed his Philadelphia Gazette, and on a painted staircase above him Thomas Jefferson proclaims the freedom of the press Behind him are John Peter Zenger, young 18th century publisher of tha New York Weekly Journal, and Andrew Hamilton who successfully defended him in the first great American trial for freedom of the press HALFWAY UP THE Poughkeepsie Journal staircase. Ottmar Mergenthaler demonstrates his linotype machine, now standard equipment in all jwwspaper offices, and above him and slightly to the right is tha first stereotype Hoe press, another great advance in newspaper printing, with the brothers Richard and Robert Hoe A modern press is at the top of the staircase Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Samuel B. Morse of Poughkeepsie, whose inventions are basic necessities in any newspaper office, are pictured In this panel. So are such newspaper greats as James Gordon Bennett, Horace Greeley, Whitelaw Reid, Charles A.

Dana, Adolph S. Ochs. Joseph Pulitzer. Joseph Medill and Mark Twain ANOTHER PANEL, south of the large Palladian window on the front of the building, shows three modern linotypes in operation and a corner of a modern stereotype room with an auto matin type caster, The final panel at the top of the staircase shows a shirt sleeved President Roosevelt at a press conference on the lawn of the Summer White House' in Hyde Park. "Mr, Roosevelt was Very much Interested in these murals," Mr.

Karoly said. "Tha sketch for the entire mural project and a painting of the finished lobby with the murals in place were given to him. I believe they are now in the Roosevelt library in Hyde Park." "So la the original sketch of his portrait, for which he posed three times," Mr. Szanto said. "II was the only President who had had news conference In his own home.

That made i quite Interesting." THE INSCRIPTION on the frieze was, suggested by Mr, Roosevelt," Mr, Karoly said. "The frieze, the press conference picture and the others near the top of tha staircase were most damaged, both by Ink mist and by people rubbing against them. "The frieze was Just parish, redding mass, You could Jl I Murals They It if Painted 19 Years Ago aiSnnHnnKH SBp A 'J 4i y3 ARTISTS LOUIS P. SZANTO, LEFT, AND ANDREW B. KAROLY photographed on top of the Poughkeepsie Journal building in 1942 when they were sketching the area landscape for use in one panel of the murals they were to paint for the main lobby of the newspaper building.

PoushkMBaM Journal Photo ARTISTS SZANTO AND KAROLY in the same order and in the same place after they returned to Poughkeepsie this autumn to renew their 1942 paintings. They replaced the entire frieze and one panel, cleaned and retouched the others, then covered all with a mat varnish to preserve them. sLLLLLLLLLLBLBmplffiiB! tW4SftW aBBooHhBi BBooooooW tsamFatam.iJiam tfe Poufhkocpolo Journal Photo MR. KAROLY SUPERVISES workmen (picture above) who attach the new frieze to the lobby wall. Ink mist from the composing room and the press room damaged the original one The quotation from the Bill of Rights, which runs around the entire frieze, was suggested by the late President Roosevelt.

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Below the panels is an abbreviated version of a quotation from the BUI of Rights. "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise therof or abridging the freedom of speech or the press." Why "therof instead of tha customary "thereof?" "That's the way Mr Roosevelt wrote it," Mr. Karoly said "He said that's the original spelling. He got it from a book in the library of Congress." THE NUMBER OF light windows and light areas back of the figures is noticeable. There's a light window back of Gutenberg aa well as In the new panel, rose window in the background of the Caxton panel, a light area back of the group at the press conference.

Is that to give the illusion of space, so that the many figures do not seem to crowd from the walls of the lobby! "That's too Intellectual a reason," Mr. Szanto said. "The xwindows simply light dark places. The light area Just happened to be there at the press conference." HOW DO THE TWO artists go about doing a set of murals cooperatively? Who does the research? Who decides what to paint? Doe Mr. Szanto do the figures and Mr, Karoly the back ground? "No.

No, Isn't that way at all," Hz. Karoly said. "We CenUnaed, en Page Sls PoufhkMpaJ Jwul Photo MR. KAROLY WORKS on the painted columns (picture above) which separate the Caxton panel from the new one, opposite the entrance door. The new panel ahowa the printing of the first newspaper in the world in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1605 on the first preis to use a printing roller.

Pouchtaototo Jwl Photo MR. SZANTO, left, (in picture at right) restores the faded color of a 15 th century costume in the panel, while, Mr. Karoly works on the floor of the panel whichshows Johann Gutenberg examining a' page just printed on his press, the first to use movable type. i HBBoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH' bkf PaaVaBaflaBBBillllllH BBiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafaBiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaBaaaaaaa KBBmoBfaBiaal aaiBBaiHBaiiaaiH iNBaiVaaifl BBiBBBBBBiflSrfc BBJBBl'aBl'aBl'aBl'aBl'aBl'al BTKi ar 'BaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaB BBiHBRlBBioaaVr VBaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiUfwBflSBBBBT BBiBBiB biIIIIIHMm bWbbBHL bbiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBmwHbbV'HbbiIIIIIIIIIIIIH ITaBiaaaaaaaaaBBBBiaaaaaaaaaaaHBV 'i SflaVBaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaafl BKvflMi.kt VPMH BBBBBBBBBBBgf BBBSanBBBBBBBBBBBBBk TBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BKJ IPflfflfliR HvBcBR sEs bbiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBs iLa HBHBgBgBBBBBBBBBBBa SaBBlBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBlBBSoHBHBBlBBBBBBBBBKSBBBBBBBB.