Falling in Love with a Painting

On our last day of vacation in Budapest, Hungary, way back in the early 1990s, I took a walk down the avenues near our hotel and passed by this Kiosk on the street. This painting of  a woman--chased, pursued--running ahead of a man who looked like Marlon Brando, intrigued me. 

I kept going and within a block or two, happened upon a gallery where the artist of this painting was showing his work. I walked in.

What great fortune. The artist himself, Laszo, greeted me, offered me a cup of wine and, in his wonderful English, went from painting to painting telling me about his work and his love of America.  I was smitten with Laszo’s paintings and utterly charmed by Laszo.  I returned with my husband with the hope that, he too, would fall in love.

He did. We wanted to buy the painting of the running Marlon Brando but it had already sold.  So, we spent more time considering and bought this one. You can see a peek of it to the right of this picture (above.) It’s hanging in our dining room now.

That evening, we three celebrated by going out to Laszlo's favorite music club. It was the beginning of a life-long friendship. I look back at that moment that seemed so random at the time. But was it really?