Biography
Lily Márkus (b. Gyurgyenovác, near Eszék, Croatia 190 - d. England 1962) to a family of German Jewish origin (Engels/Elek). In January 1923 she married Győző Márkus and moved to Budapest. She completed her ceramics training in 1932, and immediately won recognition for her outstanding designs. Márkus's functional wares, decorative vessels, figurines, elaborately carved panels and exhibition pieces were shown in Paris, Milan, New York, Warsaw and Berlin where they won many awards.In 1939 Lili and her husband were forced to leave Hungary and settled in Glossop, Derbyshire. She had an exhibition of pottery and handwoven tapestries at the Batsford Gallery, 15 North Audley Street, London from 26 June to 13 July 1946 and later other shows at Heal's and Kendal Milne in Manchester. Márkus worked for a number of British pottery companies in the 1950s including Poole pottery. However she was unable to recreate the brilliance and commercial success of her early career in Budapest. A Tree Relief around 1939 was purchased by Victoria and Albert Museum from her show at the Batsford Gallery.Márkus's work has been the subject of a number of exhibitions, including In the Eye of the Storm: Three Stories of Hungarian Craft, Design and Architecture 1930 - 1960, Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 4 October-22 November 2008.