Art historian, art writer, “the apostle of orthodox Marxist art history.” He studied at the Pázmány Péter University in Budapest (1939), at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and at the École du Louvre, Paris. Between 1947 and 1949, he was museologist of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest; from 1947 to 1950 director at the Municipal Gallery, Budapest; between 1950 and 1952 vice chair at the Museum Centre; 1953–1955, 1956–1957: deputy director general at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest; from 1957 to 1980 director general at the Hungarian National Gallery; between 1960 and 1972 editor in chief of Művészet (Art) journal; From 1961 to 1980 editor in chief of the Művészettörténeti Értesítő (Bulletin of Art History). He obtained a PhD in art history. His fields of research were 19^th- and 20^th-century Hungarian art.

From the collections of the Municipal Gallery and the Hungarian collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, he organized the new Hungarian National Gallery in 1957, as well as its relocation to the Buda Castle in 1975. After his retirement, he was instrumental in the rediscovery of forgotten and unrecognized painters. He wrote in the journal Művészet (Art) under the aliases Timót Budai and Gábor Tibélyi as well. In 1947 he received the Baumgarten Prize, and in 1996 the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic: the Officer’s Cross.