Biography
After graduating in decorative painting from the School of Applied Arts in 1910, he went on a European study tour, visiting the Scandinavian countries and Belgium. On his return home, he initially worked on the decoration of various interiors (churches, theatres, villas). His first oil painting was exhibited at the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Kunsthalle in 1910, after which he was a regular at the National Salon. He was taken prisoner of war in the First World War and spent seven years in Siberia, from where he is said to have brought back almost 800 paintings and artistic designs. In 1926 an exhibition of his ex libris was held. In the same year he emigrated to Sweden and soon settled in England. There he began designing carpets and book covers, and then turned his attention increasingly to sculpture. In the 1930s, he travelled to the Andes, the Himalayas, India and Japan, and exhibited his work in Paris and later in Budapest.
Besides his wide-ranging artistic activities, Ripszám was an excellent sportsman. In 1911 he became national champion in the 30-kilometre race. In 1912, he took part in the Stockholm Olympics, where he competed in two events (marathon and 10 km walk). It was in Sweden that he was introduced to orienteering, which he then became the main promoter of in Hungary. Ripszám designed the first sports stamp of the Hungarian Athletics Federation in 1924. He later served for a time as president of the Oakwood Hill Football Club in England. Even after the age of sixty he was still taking part in running races.
Ripszám was a versatile artist. His studio in England was burnt down during the Second World War and a large number of his mugs (mainly from the Siberian period) were lost. After the war, he had his first exhibition in Hungary in 1974 in the exhibition hall of the Institute of Cultural Relations, where his works of the last 25 years were on display. His exhibitions have been held in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, New Castle, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Paris. He died in England at the age of 78, and his ashes were interred in the garden of Oakwood Church on 9 December 1976
