[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              A TRIBUTE TO MS. GABRIELLA F. KOSZORUS-VARSA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2005

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in paying 
tribute to an extraordinary and remarkable artist, Ms. Gabriella F. 
Koszorus-Varsa. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa's work has been displayed 
internationally, from Santa Cruz, California, to Munich, Germany, 
including being featured prominently in the U.S. Capitol and the 
Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and in the Carnegie Hall in New 
York City. She has been heralded as a master of portraits, and figure 
compositions as well as sculptures.
  Ms. Koszorus-Varsa's depiction of the charge of the cavalry during 
the battle of Charleston in ``Fidelissimus ad Mortem'' is a magnificent 
painting. Highlighting the contribution of Colonel Michael Kovats de 
Fabricy in the Revolutionary War, this painting was displayed in my 
office in the Capitol for many years. Using the closing line of the 
letter Colonel Kovats wrote to Benjamin Franklin when he offered his 
expertise in fighting for our independence, ``Fidelissimus ad Mortem'' 
(most faithful unto death) symbolizes how far a foreign national would 
go to help us achieve the ideal of freedom. After meeting with General 
Washington, he was given the charge of training the American Light 
Cavalry. Colonel Kovats led the light cavalry; the hussars, which were 
a legion made up of French, German, Poles and other nationalities. 
Colonel Kovats died in the battle of Charleston, South Carolina, on May 
11, 1779.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Koszorus-Varsa displayed her deft touch in creating 
this magnificent painting. Wanting to replicate the battlefield charge 
truthfully, she researched everything down to the most intricate 
detail--from the color of the uniforms to the kind of horses that would 
have been ridden and the formation that the hussars would use when 
attacking. The blue cloaks of the men flanking Colonel Kovats came from 
a book in the Library of the ``Daughters of the American Revolution'' 
as they paraded through Philadelphia. Colonel Kovats wears the 
prominent red uniform which he wore in one of his services as commander 
of the ``Free Hussars'' in the Army of Frederick the Great, King of 
Prussia.
  Ms. Koszorus-Varsa, who memorialized the heroic deeds of Colonel 
Kovats, grew up in Budapest, Hungary as the daughter of the renowned 
art professor Elemer Fulop de Felsoeor. Following in her father's 
footsteps, she earned a Master's Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts 
in Budapest, Hungary, and began teaching at the American University in 
Heidelberg, Germany in 1947. Ms. Koszorus-Varsa and her husband, 
Colonel Ferenc Koszorus who was one of the great heroes of the 
Hungarian Holocaust, immigrated to the United States in 1951 with their 
son.
  Mr. Speaker, she was commissioned to paint some of the most important 
moments and persons in American history. Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard 
and his wife's bas-reliefs, commissioned by the Ramsey Fund at the 
National Air and Space Museum were made by Ms. Koszorus-Varsa. Her 
``Composition in Memoriam of the Late Astronauts: Virgil Grissom, 
Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee'' is currently being exhibited at 
the Alabama Space and Rocket Center. The Fleetwood Cover Service 
commissioned three First Day Cover designs from her: ``O! Say, Can You 
See'', ``Civil War Centennial'', and ``Champion of Liberty, Lajos 
Kossuth''. I also recall her wonderful painting of the first king of 
Hungary, Saint Stephen that was displayed at the Hungarian Embassy in 
Washington, D.C., which also houses her life-sized bust of Lajos 
Kossuth.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Gabriella F. Koszorus-Varsa's work is inspiring and 
has the enduring quality that many artists seek. She has ensured that 
Colonel Kovats is properly remembered, as well as the astronauts who 
lost their lives in our quest to go to the moon. I invite my colleagues 
to view all of her wonderful paintings and sculptures.

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