Cafeteria Mural

In the early 1950s Wilson parent and artist, Zyta Laky, volunteered to paint a landscape mural in the Wilson School cafeteria and the Wilson PTA provided the paint. Zyta’s children, Gyöngy and Mattias, both Wilson students, eagerly helped with her supplies while she painted. Her oldest son, Laszlo, Jr. attended Harding Junior High. Zyta and her husband, Laszlo, opened one of the first private art galleries in the city. The Laky family had escaped Hungary following World War II.

Zyta Laky was born in Poland on October 27, 1912, growing up during the turbulent World War I time period. She was a noted professional artist who studied art at the prestigious Royal Academy of Art in Budapest, Hungary. She also spent time under the tutelage of several Eastern European masters. She painted in all media.

In Oklahoma City, Laky painted many portraits, including Maxey Cooper, 1951 Beaux Arts queen. Nan Sheets of the Oklahoma Arts Center hosted a one-person show for Laky in 1952. She later exhibited her works widely on the Monterey Peninsula and throughout the country and abroad. Laky became well known for her plein-air impressionist landscapes and seascapes of the Monterey Peninsula. She was an award winner in many of the venues in which she entered her works and she also was elected to a life fellowship in the Royal Society of Arts. Zyta Laky and her husband owned and operated a Gallery on San Carlos in Carmel, California for many years. Zyta died in Monterey on November 15, 1971.