Collection ID: LMC 2764
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Arikha, Avigdor, 1929-2010
Abstract:
The Arikha mss., 1933-2011, consists of correspondence from writer Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989, to Avigdor Arikha, 1929-2010, and Arikha's wife, poet Anne Atik, 1932-. Arikha's various collected periodicals, catalogues, theatre ephemera, criticisms of Beckett, and other related items.
Extent:
2 Boxes (2 standard) and 1 folio
Language:
English , French , German , Hebrew , Italian , Spanish; Castilian .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Arikha mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Avigdor Arikha, 1929-2010, was a French-Israeli painter and art historian, famous for both his art and his various connections in the art and theatre world, including his relationship with Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989. Born to a Jewish Romanian family, Arikha and his family faced deportation to a Romanian concentration camp in 1941, and some of his works reflect his experiences surviving the Holocaust. After emigrating to France in the early 1950s, Arikha started as an abstractionist and later painting and drawing only from life, rather than photographs or memory. As an art historian, he frequented the European art and theatre scenes from the 1950s till his death. Arikha illustrated some of Samuel Beckett's works, and he and his wife, poet Anne Atik, 1932-, became Beckett's close confidantes. They exchanged many letters and postcards during the latter half of the twentieth century.

Scope and Content:

The Arikha mss., 1933-2011, consists of correspondence from writer Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989, to Avigdor Arikha, 1929-2010, and Arikha's wife, poet Anne Atik, 1932-. Arikha's various collected periodicals, catalogues, theatre ephemera, criticisms of Beckett, and other related items.

Correspondence includes letters and postcards from Samuel Beckett to Avigdor and Anne, as well as some miscellaneous items. Criticism includes critical essays about Samuel Beckett. Periodicals includes newpapers, magazines, and journals with stories, review, or entries about Beckett. Art Catalogues includes catalogues to various art gallery and museum exhibits. Theatre Ephemera contains pamphlets, programs, clippings, and other materials related to the theatre scene of Arikha's time, some items with many items relating to productions of Beckett. Miscellaneous includes various items that could not be organized into other series.

Acquisition information:
Purchase: 2011
Arrangement:

This collection is organized into the following series: I. Correspondence, II. Criticism, III. Periodicals, IV. Art Catalogues, V. Theatre Ephemera, and VI. Miscellaneous.

Physical location:
Lilly - Folio; Lilly - Stacks

Indexed Terms

Names:
Arikha, Avigdor, 1929-2010

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Arikha mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu