Frederick Antal

Who was Frederick Antal?

Frederick Antal, born Frigyes Antal, later known as Friedrich Antal, was a Jewish Hungarian art historian, particularly known for his contributions to the social history of art.

After earning a degree in law, Antal decided to pursue art history. He studied with Heinrich Wölfflin in Berlin before completing his doctorate under Max Dvorák in Vienna. He was a member of the Sonntagskreis intellectual group formed by Béla Balázs, György Lukács and others in 1915. He started his career at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest with a year as a volunteer from 1914. In 1919, he became its Vorsitzender des Direktoriums for several months until the White Terror toppled the new Hungarian Soviet Republic and he fled the country.

After a brief sojourn in Vienna, Antal lived in Italy until 1923, when he relocated to Berlin. From 1926 to 1934, he was an editor for Kritische Berichte zur kunstgeschichtlichen Literatur, alongside Bruno Fürst. In 1933, he was forced to flee from political upheaval again, as the Nazi party rose to prominence in Germany. Settling in England, he lectured at the Courtauld Institute and wrote.