Arabia (1930)

Elly Bártfay (born Olga Kröszl Elvira) is a Hungarian painter, graphic artist and restorer. She graduated from the Budapest College of Applied Arts. She won a beauty contest in 1939. During World War II she worked as a volunteer nurse for her brother-in-law, Dr. József Nemes, a doctor. After the war, she passed the examination to become a road-roller engineer and, alongside her husband, the valiant officer Antal Bártfay, she was the first woman roller engineer in the country to participate in the reconstruction of roads. This activity undermined her health and she returned to the fine arts. In 1953, she retrained in Hódmezővásárhely - her master was a former Rudnay student, Zoltán Füstös.

Besides paintings, she also made portraits in clay. One of these was exhibited at the János Tornyai Museum in Hódmezővásárhely in 1954. In the 60s and 70s she worked in Germany - she had studios and exhibitions in Buchen / Heimstadt and in Amsterdam in 1976. The themes of her paintings were very varied. Besides landscape painting, she was inspired by the diversity of Hungarian rural life. She also painted many equestrian and hunting pictures. She painted not only on canvas but also on peas, rice, interestingly shaped stones and silk. Her miniatures are a rarity, and with a magnifying glass you can see the precise detail. Her works are in private hands.