Victor Ambrus
Encyclopedia
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
best known for his regular appearances on the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
, where he visualises how the sites being excavated may have once looked. He is an Associate of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
and the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers. He is also patron of the Association of Archaeological Illustrators and Surveyors. His work is distinguished by his skill in illustrating histories, folk tales, and animal stories
Background
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts for three years, but fled Hungary to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1956 following the failure of the Hungarian Uprising
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....
against the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-backed government. He took part in the Hungarian uprising when a building that he and his fellow students held came under fire from the Soviets. He first fled to Austria. Inspired by classic English illustrators such as E H Shepard , Tenniel Arthur Rackham, Ambrus chose to make his way to England, recognising that it would be a good place to continue his study of illustration. He arrived at Blackbush airport in Surrey in December 1956. Despite speaking no English, Victor presented himself at Farnham Art School and was immediately taken on, not to follow any particular course but to work at his drawing. Ambrus had already concentrated largely on engraving and lithography which, as he says, was an excellent training for line illustration. The Principal of Farnham was quick to recognise that Victor was ready for a higher level of study and so, after only two terms, he directed him to the Royal College of Art in London. His tutor applied to London’s Royal College of Art on his behalf, and Ambrus won a Gulbenkian scholarship to study printmaking and illustration for three years. At the Royal College Ambrus met his wife Glenys, who was then a fellow student and is now a fellow illustrator.
At the age of 20, he began his career as a book illustrator. While at college he took some samples of his work to Mabel George of the Oxford University Press . In his last year of the course, he was commissioned to illustrate a book that was reviewed in The Times Literary Supplement. His first real job on leaving college was to work for an advertising agency. As his freelance work increased after two years he went back to Farnham and started teaching at the Art School while doing illustration part-time. Ambrus lectured from 1963 to 1985 at Farnham
Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College
The Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College was an art college in the United Kingdom. It merged with the Kent Institute of Art & Design on 1 August 2005 to form the University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester, now the University for...
, Guildford
Guildford School of Art
Guildford School of Art was one of several schools of art run by Surrey County Council. In 1969 it merged with Farnham College of Art to become the West Surrey College of Art and Design...
and Epsom Colleges of Art. He has had a long career working for the Oxford University Press. Like many illustrators, Victor started by doing line illustrations for novels. The children’s editor at OUP Mabel George gave him first Hester Burton's and then K M Peyton's novels to illustrate. Both used his talent for drawing horses and with both he built up a happy working relationship.
He has contributed to almost 300 books. Among his credits are illustrating several fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
compilations by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
, including The Glass Man and the Golden Bird: Hungarian Folk and Fairy Tales
The Glass Man and the Golden Bird: Hungarian Folk and Fairy Tales
The Glass Man and the Golden Bird: Hungarian Folk and Fairy Tales is a 1968 anthology of 21 tales from Hungary that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders...
and Jonnikin and the Flying Basket: French Folk and Fairy Tales
Jonnikin and the Flying Basket: French Folk and Fairy Tales
Jonnikin and the Flying Basket: French Folk and Fairy Tales is a 1969 anthology of 17 French tales that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders...
. Ambrus has twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal
Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal was established in the United Kingdom in 1955 in honour of the children's illustrator, Kate Greenaway. The medal is given annually to an outstanding work of illustration in children's literature. It is awarded by Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
, once in 1965 for The Three Poor Tailors, and again in 1975 for Mishka and Horses in Battle. He has also won the World Wildlife Award.
He currently works as the artist on the archaeological television programme, Time Team. The TV director and producer were discussing how to make an archaeology series and wanted an illustrator. They went to the library and found 'The Story of Britain' by Reader’s Digest and found that he could illustrate all the subjects they were likely to encounter. Ambrus took part in a pilot episode of what became Time Team on Channel 4.
He has also designed six sets of historical stamps for the Jersey Post Office and one for the Royal Mail. He was one of seven leading British illustrators to be included in the prestigious exhibition entitled The World of English Picture Books, which toured Japan (1998).
Education:
- St. Imre Cistercian College, Budapest 1945-53
- Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest 1953-1956
- Royal College of Art / Royal Scholar 1957/ 1957 - 1960 - (A.R.C.A. 1960)
Elected:
- Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter Etchers. - (R.E. 1973).
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 1977 - (F.R.S.A).
- Elected Member of The Pastel Society - (P.S. 1993).
- Vice President of The Pastel Society 1995 - 1998 (PPVPS).
- 2004-2007 Elected the Vice President of the Pastel Society
- Hon Fellow, Society of Graphic Fine Art 2010 - (Hon S.G.F.A.).
- He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Engravers and the Royal Society of Arts and is an Associate of the Royal College of Art, where he got his degree.
Awards:
- Kate Greenaway Gold Medal for Illustration - 1965.
- Kate Greenaway Gold medal for Illustration - 1975.
- Daler Rowney Prize - 1993.
- World Wildlife Fund Prize, Society of Wildlife Artists 1993.
- The Royal Academy of Arts, Arts Club Drawing Prize - 1996.
Further reading
- D. Martin, 'Victor Ambrus', in D. Martin, The Telling Line Essays On Fifteen Contemporary Book Illustrators (1989), p.83-105