The Croatian sculptor Rudolf Valdec (Krapina 1872 – Zagreb 1929) studied at art academies in Vienna and Munich, after which he returned to Zagreb in the 1880s, where a rich artistic scene had begun to develop at the end of the 19th century owing to the painter Vlaho Bukovac and his work. However, as the people back in the day were averse to changes and did not accept the trends of more modern understandings of art, and as misunderstandings occurred with the influential cultural worker Isidor Kršnjavi, many Croatian artists – including Valdec – opted to leave Zagreb at the beginning of the 20th century. They hoped to find themselves in European and American cities as temporary migrants. Painters Vlaho Bukovac and Menci Clement Crnčić left Zagreb for Prague and Vienna, while artists Robert Auer, Bela Čikoš Sesija and Rudolf Valdec decided to try their luck in New York City and asked the authorities to support them financially for a period of one year. Valdec was denied financial support and thus had to stay in Zagreb. In 1907, he began teaching at the Craft School in Zagreb, and the very next year he became a professor at the newly founded Temporary Higher School for Arts and Crafts (now the Academy of Fine Arts), where he worked until his death. He was eventually granted a one-year leave and financial support “for academic and professional growth” in the school year 1912/1913 by ban Slavko pl. Cuvaj, the royal commissioner. Valdec then took lessons in English for several months so as to better prepare for the trip. He estimated that the received financial support would not suffice for a one-year stay in the United States and thus had to sell the vineyards he owned in Varaždin Breg.

Valdec’s travel experience was not like that of most expats, who often had to endure the harrowing conditions of third-class accommodation below the deck of a ship. At that time, he was not only a professor, but also the principal of a European art academy, a guest of the Holland America Line, and was therefore accommodated in a first-class cabin of the ocean liner S.S. Rijndam (Ryndam), launched in 1901. In his travel journal, which is kept in the Archives for Fine Arts of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts as part of the sculptor’s legacy, Valdec describes in detail the twenty days he spent on the ocean, which he saw for the first time on that occasion. He also notes several times that he was troubled by a sense of insecurity and trepidation on the transoceanic journey, and felt anxiety whenever the sea would become restless. After reaching their destination, first-class passengers were taken to the docks in Hoboken, New Jersey where Valdec was greeted by acquaintances and friends. His first impressions were of an unpleasant and strange place, as he stated “it seemed more beautiful looking from the sea”.

Valdec spent a year in New York and Chicago in the company of prominent emigrants and members of American society – cultural workers, politicians and artists. He stayed in hotels, attended various social events and familiarized himself with the American lifestyle, which was in many ways different from the European one. Like the majority of intellectual migrants, Valdec identified himself primarily as a European, since huge differences existed between the American and European societies. He was particularly disappointed with New York, but, nevertheless, Valdec gradually adapted to the new surroundings. He showed interest in the education system, visited secondary and higher education institutions, met with representatives of the newly formed Croatian League, as well as with politicians of other South Slavic nations, with whom he shared political views on establishing a common state. In the Croatian World, the New York daily newspaper of the Croatian League, the arrival of the “famous Croatian sculptor Rudolf Valdec” was announced on the first page of several issues, along with reproductions of some relevant recent works.

Valdec witnessed how Croatian immigrants struggled to make ends meet and stated as follows: “... They spend their money carelessly and get drunk frivolously, as we are wont to do. Given that they already struggle in life, they assess that they might as well get drunk at least once. As a result, they joyfully fall into all the bad habits we have, in blissful ignorance, and rot away.” He did not share his negative impressions about Croatian emigrants in the United States with the public. After returning to Zagreb in June 1914, as part of commemorating Children’s Day in the small Kola hall, he gave a lecture about his impressions from England and America. According to a newspaper report published in the Jutarnji list, the presentation was marked by a casual tone, accompanied by a genuine “storm of laughter”, and Valdec “spoke particularly accurately ... about our emigrants, whom he was very interested in, as he watched and followed them with a lot of love and care”. In addition, he certainly spoke about the need for quality staff, above all for “good, self-assured, honest and patient teachers ... who would take the lead in giving their people a good name”.

Valdec published his impressions from the journey in a feuilleton titled My Journey to America, in the daily newspaper Obzor, during July and August 1914. The feuilleton focuses on various aspects of the United States, such as the education system, the judiciary and political life. 

Prepared by:  Jasenka Ferber Bogdan, Archives for Fine Arts of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts