Joseph J. Varga was a Hungarian-born painter and decorator. He was born on November 22, 1876, and moved to Buffalo in 1908. He received his art training studying under various artists in Szckesfehervar and Budapest for seventeen years. He was accomplished as both a landscape and still-life painter.
Along with the great Joseph Mazur (1897-1970), he was a leading church painter who decorated several churches throughout Buffalo including the former St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church on Northland Avenue, St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church, United Bethlehem, and the former Holy Name of Christ Church. He also decorated other buildings and theaters in the area. Varga was a member of the Buffalo Arts Club and the Buffalo Society of Artists.