The Hungarian who fought for the rights of the American Indians

Richard Erdoes was fascinated by Native American culture, thus, he became one of the first supporters and advocates of their Civil Rights Movement in the 60s and 70s.

An adventurous life

He described himself as “equal parts Austrian, Hungarian and German, as well as equal parts Catholic, Protestant and Jew…” In fact, his father, Richárd Erdős Sr., was a famous Hungarian opera singer who unfortunately died a few weeks before his birth. Thus, he lived in Vienna with his sister, Leopoldine (“Poldi”) Sangora, who worked as an actress in the Austrian capital.

He had a quite adventurous life. He was an art student in Berlin, but since he was involved in a small underground paper which published anti-Hitler cartoons he had to

flee Germany after the Nazi leader came to power in 1933. 

He moved back to Vienna where he continued his studies, wrote illustrated children’s books and worked as a caricaturist to the anti-Nazi Tag and Stunde. However, since there was a price on his head in Germany, he had to abandon Austria after Nazi Germany had occupied it in 1938. Firstly, he went to Paris, then to London and finally, to the United States. He met his first wife in Great-Britain and they married shortly before they arrived in New York City.

In the Big Apple, he became a commercial artist, well-known for his highly detailed, whimsical drawings. He was quite praised so he

worked for magazines like Stage, Fortune, Pageant, Gourmet, Harper’s Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Time, National Geographic and Life Magazine.