History of Elizabeth Guzsely Gallery

In 1988 a purpose-built Art Gallery was officially opened in Cooktown. For some years following the completion of the building there was a blank space on the front wall where the name of the Gallery would be expected to appear. Since 1998, however, the name Elizabeth Guzsely has filled that space.

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Who was Elizabeth Guzsely and why was hers the name chosen to grace the wall of the Gallery? Born Erzsebet Feher in 1934 in Budapest, Hungary, Elizabeth grew up in the midst of a large extended family, which included painters, musicians, singers, actors, writers and an uncle who was an art dealer with an antique shop. Within this personal environment, art became a way of life for Elizabeth from an early age. The Second World War was also a part of her childhood. Elizabeth recalled the terror particularly in the latter part of these difficult years, when first the Germans, with whom Hungary was allied, and then the Russians, passed through her country.

In the post-war period, having gained a Diploma in Fine Art from the Hungarian National Institute, Elizabeth obtained employment as a Graphic Artist with the main Hungarian Military Academy, which was then indirectly under Russian control. At the Military Academy she found herself surrounded by old masters and teachers from the Institute of fine art. Whilst working alongside these experts painting battle scenes, illustrating all kinds of tools used in war and doing calligraphy for displays, Elizabeth gained valuable experience in how to apply the techniques she had been taught at the Institute.

In 1951 Elizabeth met Tibor Guzsely at the Sports Club in Budapest where their mutual interest in Orienteering laid the foundation for a friendship, which was to grow into a lifetime partnership. Their lives were to change forever in 1956 when, in a spontaneous reaction to Stalinist-style communism, Hungarian society erupted into an uprising against the abuses and lack of freedom under the prevailing regime and ultimately, against Russian domination. In December 1956, Elizabeth and Tibor, together with other family members managed to escape into Austria via a narrow passage free of mines, as the uprising was brutally suppressed by the Soviet soldiers and tanks.

As refugees with no money and virtually no possessions, the escapees were treated kindly by the Austrians as they were processed for emigration to a new country. In the midst of this upheaval, Tibor and Elizabeth found stability in their own relationship and were married on 31 January 1957. Listing their preferred destinations as Canada, South Africa or Australia, the young couple eventually boarded the Fair Sea in Bremerhaven, northern Germany, in April 1957, their destination: Australia. Although problems involving President Nasser and the Suez
Canal meant a diversion via the Cape of Good Hope, the ship at last berthed safely in Melbourne, Australia early in May 1957. The challenge presented by this new, strange land was faced squarely by the Guzselys.

Within days of their arrival, Tibor utilised the 2 pounds 10 shillings unemployment benefit provided by the Australian Government to leave the migrant hostel and travel to Sydney where he sought and very soon found a factory job. Elizabeth followed shortly afterwards and quickly obtained employment as a Graphic Artist hand-painting porcelain. Their first accommodation was sharing half a garage and with little English between them, one can fully admire their courage and determination to succeed. Prepared to face hardships and travel wherever work was available, their odyssey carried them from Sydney to the Snowy Mountains, to Tasmania’s West Coast, to the Ord River, to Cairns and Tully, utilising
throughout their respective technical abilities. Various occupations for Elizabeth included textile design, dressmaking, even creating bark paintings for the tourist industry and, for a short time, teaching art at St Monica’s School in Cairns. A daughter, Katalin Agnes, was born to the couple in Sydney and she too participated in her parents’ itinerant lifestyle as they pursued a secure future in their adopted land.

The Guzsely family at last found a permanent home in late 1977 when Tibor accepted a position as Overseer with the Cook Shire Council. Cooktown hospitality meant that Elizabeth was soon invited to join a group of ladies who, while meeting regularly, had discovered a mutual interest in experimenting with art. Little did that group know what that kindly invitation to a newcomer would mean for the community of Cooktown.

Elizabeth’s considerable artistic skills were soon discovered and from the outset, she was generous in imparting her knowledge to this group of fledgling artists. The Cooktown Art Society was formed in 1978 and Elizabeth agreed to hold art classes for all those interested. Various venues were utilised for the classes; the local school, the Shire Hall, and the first exhibition of paintings was held in the then rather dilapidated RSL Building. Elizabeth had a dream of a gallery space for Cooktown. The small group of artists worked hard to raise sufficient funds to achieve this seemingly impossible goal.

Then it was discovered in old cadastral maps dating back to 1874, there was a piece of land, which had once housed a School of Arts. Cook Shire Council records indicate that the land was officially reserved for this purpose by Government Gazette in 1879. Negotiations with the Lands Department resulted in a name change for the artist’s group to the Cooktown School of Art Society and cleared the way for construction of the long hoped-for building on the site.

A Government Grant on the basis of one dollar for each dollar raised by this hardworking group meant the Cooktown School of Art Society’s Gallery became a reality and was officially opened in 1988. It was indeed a proud moment for all concerned, not least for Elizabeth Guzsely who had first mooted this possibility. Two years later, for her work in fostering art in the area, Elizabeth became the recipient of Cook Shire Council’s Australia Day Citizen Award.

Trevour Maudsley, is a local Cooktown artist of some renown, whose wife Wendy urged him to attend his very first art lesson under the tutelage of Elizabeth in 1978. Trevor is representative of perhaps all who benefited from Elizabeth’s guidance over the years. He has said simply – “I had a great respect for her always because she had so much knowledge.” He noted that she always urged the group to be better, to raise standards higher. Another local artist, Olive Wilson, who joined the group in 1988, recalled that Elizabeth shared her expertise unstintingly, opening up her home for the artists regularly and participating actively in field trips into her beloved Australian bush. Elizabeth demonstrated her expertise in a range of genres and in her portrayal of the bush sought always to capture that special ‘diffused light’ which she found in the Australian landscape.

Elizabeth Guzsely passed away on 18 December 1997. Her journey from her native Hungary to Cooktown had been a long one. The artists and community of Cooktown have reason to be grateful that she and her family made the journey. An exhibition of her work held in 1998 was a tribute to her considerable artistic skill. Just as she so ably filled a space in the community over the years, Elizabeth’s name now fills the space on the front wall of the Cooktown School
of Art as a fitting recognition of her legacy.


Jean Stephan, October 2001
Amended, September 2007

The web link to the original story that this text was extracted from. Cooktown Life Web Site Elizabeth Guzsely Story

 

 

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