Self-portrait

In his will of 1931 the renowned and successful painter, Izsák Perlmutter (Pest, 1866 – Budapest, 1932), left pieces of his work, including his villa in Rákospalota which frequently appeared on his paintings, as well as his mansion at 60, Andrássy Street, to the Jewish Museum. Gusztáv Magyar-Mannheimer, painter, and Lajos Ernst, art collector, helped in the selection of the paintings. In 1936 a Perlmutter-room with his works opened on the second floor of the Jewish Museum. But in the end the real estates did not become the property of the museum: the mansion at 60, Andrássy Street became the headquarters of the Hungarian Arrow Cross (Nazi) Party in 1944. Later the communist political police, then in 1946 the State Defense Authority (ÁVO in Hungarian) transformed it into their centre and equipped the building with its infamous torture rooms and prison.