Description

A signed limited print may be available of this piece! (click here)

It's a beautiful summer day on Coney Island beach, in Brooklyn, New York.

The beach is filled with kids and adults playing near the shore. In the background, you can see the amusement park - the Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump, Cyclone Roller Coaster, and the Boardwalk.

When I think about those days, I remember how Mom and Dad would take us to Coney Island. We traveled by subway, making a long, full-day trip from our uptown Manhattan apartment. Mom and Dad would sit us in the front car. Eagerly waiting for the train to exit the tunnel in Brooklyn, our excitement was palpable. Soon after, we could first smell the salty beach water and then see the amusement park in the distance.

Dad was a classical artist who trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary during the war years. He saw beauty everywhere. His art was vibrant and full of emotion, much like the Expressionist and Fauve styles he admired. He had a way of capturing the essence of a moment, turning simple scenes into masterpieces of life.

Those early years, after escaping Communist Hungary in 1956, and arriving in the United States with only what we could carry, were tough. We did not speak English and were penniless. But when you're young, you don't think about being rich or poor. What mattered was that we were together as a family, safe, and sound - and that was enough.

Even now, looking at this painting, I can almost hear the laughter of children, feel the warmth of the sun, and smell the salty ocean breeze. It's a beautiful reminder of those carefree days and the love that bound our family together.

On this day in 1964, Dad brought along his easel, set it up on the pier, and created Coney Island Dock.

Through My Father's Eyes