Biography
József Szőri was born on 4 Oct. 1878 in Szeged, where his father was a landowner. He completed his schooling in Szeged and his university studies in Budapest, although he was not very enthusiastic about legal studies. Interrupting his legal studies, he attended Simon Hollósy's private school in Munich from 1900, and then worked in Nagybánya. In 1909, he made a study trip to Paris, where he spent five months. With the patronage of Géza Bornemisza, he probably also went to Matisse's painting school. He studied with Ferenc Szablya-Frischauf, and then became a founding member of Kéve.
After returning home, he lived and worked in Szeged, but also visited the Vásárhely artist colony several times. Although he completed his legal studies on the side, he continued to paint and considered art to be his true calling. He exhibited some paintings at an exhibition in Szeged (1905), and two years later, as an artist member of Kéve, he participated in the association's exhibitions in Budapest and in its exhibitions at the Hagenbund in Vienna and the Brakls Kunsthaus in Munich. He spent a few months in Paris with art studies (1909). Szőri actively participated in the organization of the Association of Artists of the Great Plain and was the executive chairman of the Association.
