Lajos Markos (1917-1993)
Frontier Communion
oil on canvas
36 x 40 inches
44 x 48 inches (frame)
signed lower right: L. Markos

A European, Lajos Markos was trained at the Royal Academy of Budapest. He came to the United States following World War II and quickly established himself in New York City as a major portrait artist, with many of his subjects being celebrities such as John Wayne and Pablo Casals. In the 1960s, he moved to Houston, Texas, where he expanded his interest to Western art. Examples of his work are in the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

In this remarkable large work by the Hungarian/American master, Markos depicts a prairie preacher with his wife playing a small traveling organ, singing a hymn and preparing to offer communion to immigrants making the long journey via wagon train out West to a new life in a new country.

The painting appears to be in good condition. Under UV examination, there is no evidence of restoration or inpainting.