Upon his arrival in Canada in 1957, Szilasi was
diagnosed with tuberculosis. He spent the following
year in a sanatorium in Nova Scotia, and then in
Quebec, where his father found government work.
In 1958, he met Franc ̧ois Lafortune, a librarian with
the Quebec government and an amateur photogra-
pher who encouraged his photographic work.
In 1959, Szilasi moved to Montreal to work as a
photographer at the Office du film du Que ́bec,
where he stayed until 1971. Throughout the dec-
ade, he photographed a variety of subjects, includ-
ing Expo 67 and the construction of the Quebec
pavilion. Szilasi was largely self-taught, apart from
a course at the School of Modern Photography in
1960–1961 and a workshop in 1966 on Minor
White’s zone system. During these years, he
learned the different photographic processes and
formats, and he developed his vision through read-
ings and discussions with teachers like Ron Solo-
mon, a photo editor with the National Film Board
of Canada. He gradually became interested in
large-format photography and in the social docu-
mentary approach in film and in photography,
following the work of Canadian documentary film-
maker Pierre Perreault and American photographer
Paul Strand. Szilasi met artist Doreen Lindsay in
1961, and their daughter Andre ́a was born in 1962.
Szilasi had his first exhibition in 1967. This
marked the beginning of a new period with his
establishment as an artist and educator. In 1968
he began photographing artworks for artists, com-
mercial galleries, museums and art magazines, a
commercial activity he kept up until 1990.
In 1971, he began to teach at the College du
Vieux-Montre ́al, which offered him a good art de-
partment, dynamism, and freedom to engage in his
own projects. He worked at the College until 1980.
During this period, he established his style and fine-
tuned his vision, photographing Montreal’s architec-
ture and travelling throughout agricultural Quebec
in Charleroix, La Beauce, Lotbinie`re, and Abitibi to
document a way of life that was changing rapidly.
Szilasi was strongly influenced by the American
school of photography, especially the work of
Walker Evans and Paul Strand, who he felt had
produced an honest testimony to a world they
knew well. The work of Manuel A ́lvarez Bravo
also influenced his own work. In 1977, Gabor Szilasi
was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
From 1980 to 1995, he taught at Concordia Uni-
versity in Montreal. Unlike his teaching at the Col-
lege, his work here focused less on commercial
photography and more on the social and esthetic
aspects. He continued his exploration of the differ-
ent regions of Quebec. This work was a way for him
to study the inhabitants of a region and to observe
the way they transformed their environment. His
interest in color photography after 1976 was the
result of his desire to incorporate more information
on their environment. He was primarily interested in
photographing individuals who were poor but
proud, thus echoing the approach developed by
Walker Evans and James Agee inLet us now praise
famous men. Szilasi has given workshops through-
out Canada and the United States, most notably at
Stanford University. He is still very active, and con-
tinues to shoot architecture and portraits.
MichelGaboury
Seealso:Architectural Photography; Documentary
Photography; Photography in Canada; PortraitureBiography
Born in Budapest, Hungary, 3 February 1928. Attended
Evange ́likus Gimnnazium and University of Budapest
(1946–1949). In October 1949, made an unsuccessful
attempt to flee the country through Czechoslovakia and
spent five months in prison. From 1950 to 1956, worked
first as a laborer and then as a worker for a cooperative
producing handkerchiefs. Purchased his first camera, a
Zorkij, a Russian copy of the Leica 111F in 1952. Fled
the country in November 1956. Arrived in Canada in- From 1959 to 1971, worked as a photographer for
l’Office du Film du Que ́bec. Taught photography at the
Colle`ge du Vieux-Montre ́al from 1971 to 1980, and at
Concordia University from 1980 to 1995. Has also given
photography courses at the Academy of Fine Arts, Cra-
cow (Poland) 1990, and at the Department of Art, Stan-
ford University in 1991, 93 and 95. Recipient of seven
grants for creation/production from The Canada Council
for the Arts. Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of
Arts in 1977. Currently lives in Montre ́al, Canada.
Individual Exhibitions
1970 Charlevoix; Studio 23; Montre ́al, Canada
1974 La Beauce; McCord Museum of Canadian History,
Montre ́al, Canada
1977 Gabor Szilasi: Images du Que ́bec; Galerie de l’Image;
Ottawa, Canada
1978 Gabor Szilasi; Galerie Yajima; Montre ́al, Canada
1980 Gabor Szilasi: Photographies re ́centes; Muse ́e d’art
contemporain ; Montre ́al, Canada
1982 Panoramas de Montre ́al; Art 45; Montre ́al, Canada
1984 Enseignes lumineuses; Art 45; Montre ́al, Canada
1985 Charlevoix; Muse ́e Laure-Conan; La Malbaie, Canada
1986 The Colour Photographs of Gabor Szilasi: Selected
Works from 1977–1985; Toronto Image Works; Tor-
onto, Canada
1987 Gabor Szilasi: fotografie; Il Centro Culturale Cana-
dese; Rome, Italy
1988 Se ́jour en Italie; Art 45; Montre ́al, Canada
1990 Gabor Szilasi: Fotografie Kanadyjskie, 1970–1990;
Academy of Fine Arts; Cracow, PolandSZILASI, GABOR