[nb 4] Detré went to Paris in 1914, before returning to Hungary, but would leave shortly thereafter, perhaps as a result of the brutal anti-communist repression launched by the Miklós Horthy regime.

A member of Detré's future wife's family, it was rumored, served as an "artistic advisor" in the government of Béla Kun, but if so, it was not by official decree.

He became an acquaintance of Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy, Tsuguharu Foujita, Moïse Kisling, Kiki de Montparnasse (who modeled for him on several occasions)[4][5] and a close friend of Pascin.

During the 1920s Detré and Pascin often met at Le Dôme Café and the Jockey-Club de Paris, forming an intricate part of bohemian life of Montparnasse.

Subjects vary from trenchant social criticism to colorful landscapes, portraits, domestic and brothel scenes not unlike those of Toulouse-Lautrec whose influence he recognized.

In the 1960s, several works were placed in public auctions at Hôtel Drouot in Paris,[13][14] and elsewhere, by the artist's family and his only daughter so that examples of his production continue to be seen by private collectors in Europe.