French Painter. Although he began medical study in 1925, within two years he would transfer instead to the Podolin-Volkman Academy to study academic painting. That was followed by enrollment in Sandor Bortnyik's school Muhely, that was considered the centre of Bauhaus studies. "Blue Study and Green Study" was his first work in 1929. After marriage to Claire, he worked as a graphic and poster designer. Moving to Paris, he continued his art while supporting himself working in an advertising agency. His early graphic period is represented well by his work "Zebras" in 1937, considered his first Op Art piece. In the following ten years, he explored a more surrealistic approach as seen in his "Self Portrait" in 1941. By 1947, he had moved away from that genre to develop more optical art. His summers spent at Cote d'Azur spurred his "Gordes/Cristal." By the 1950's, he experimented with photography, designing "Tribute to Malevitch" for the University of Caracas, Venezuela, considered a major work of this period. In March, 1959, Vasarely patented his "unites plastiques" method, and then expanding into serial art. The Museum of Modern Art invited him to participate in their exhibition "The Responsive Eye" in 1965. In 1970, he opened his own museum in Gordes that was open until 1996. This would house works as "Vega-Lep," and"Vega 200." The Foundation Vasarely was a second museum designed by the artist to house his works in Aix-en-Provence. He also embarked on designing tableware by a German porcelain manufacturer. For the benefit of UNESCO in 1982 he created serigraphs taken into space onto Salyut 7 and later auctioned. Over his life, he was awarded the Guggenheim Prize, French Chevalier de L'Ordre de la Legion d'honneur, Art Critics Prize, and the Gold Medal at the Milan Triennial. His works are presently held in the collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Many have titled him the grandfather of the Op Art movement.