STEFAN LÖKÖS (1913-1994) was born in Budapest, Hungary , he was an accomplished violinist, as well as an artist. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary in 1937 and from the City Law Academy in Miskoic, Hungary in 1942. He was almost immediately conscripted into the German army as Hungary and Germany had formed an alliance to fight the Communists.

Those were the early days of World War II and he was soon captured by the Russians and put into a concentration camp. There he used his wits and his skills to paint portraits for the officers and play his violin for them during their off hours.

This not only gave him a special rapport with his captors, but an opportunity to plan and execute an escape which led him to Vienna where he met the beautiful Ingé. She had made her tortuous way over the mountains from war torn Germany to Vienna to finally realize her dream of studying art.

Their story is right out of Hollywood (See “Still Life With Violin” by Ingeborg Lökös). Although Stefan had no country’s identification papers they soon married and went through several years on the run in refugee camps in Italy, Syria and finally settling in Lebanon where Stefan’s paintings made a significant donation to Lebanon’s acceptance of ‘modern art.’ Their dream remained emigration to the promised land, the United States of America.

In 1954, their dream was realized and they established themselves in Woodstock, New York where Stefan gained much popularity for his abstract art and founded the successful Studio School and Gallery.

In 1967, Ingé and Stefan visited Puerto Vallarta and like so many of us, fell in love with everything about it. They began to make this paradise by the sea their winter home. Both in New York and Puerto Vallarta, Stefan’s fame grew. He never gave up on his violin and frequently played concerts for friends and family. Sustained by his art, he enjoyed a successful career, with his works represented in many international private collections, universities and museums around the world.

Sadly, Stefan died in 1994, but Ingé is continuing their tradition of spending winters here in Puerto Vallarta. She has decided that she should sell the remainder of her beloved Stefan’s paintings this year, with a private offering to provide her many friends in Puerto Vallarta, and around the world, the lowest prices possible.