E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives Description & Finding Aid: Sorel Etrog Fonds SC132 Prepared by Amy Marshall Furness, 2014 With the assistance of Meaghan Reddy 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 1G4 Reference Desk: 416-979-6642 www.ago.net/research-library-archives Sorel Etrog Fonds Sorel Etrog Fonds, 2014 Dates of creation: 1921-2012 Extent: 3.5 metres of textual records 8687 photographs 7107 works on paper 12 film reels 7 video cassettes 3 paintings 4 audio reels 4 maquettes 1 mask Biographical sketch: Sorel Etrog (Jassy, Romania 1933 - Toronto, Canada 2014) was an artist, writer and philosopher. He began his art studies at the Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv; his first solo show in Tel Aviv (1958) led to a scholarship at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In New York, he caught the attention of Samuel Zacks, which led to his first show at Gallery Moos in Toronto. Etrog subsequently immigrated to Toronto in 1963, and made his home here for the remainder of his life (apart from sojourns in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s, working with the Michelucci foundry). Etrog’s work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Canada and internationally, and his artwork is in the collection of major museums and private collections worldwide, in addition to the public art works noted above. A retrospective of his work was held at the AGO from April 27-September 29, 2013. Sorel Etrog died on February 26, 2014. Scope and content: Fonds consists of the records of the life and work of Sorel Etrog, including his personal, professional and literary correspondence; records of exhibitions and of acquisitions of his work by various galleries and collectors; administrative records related to various projects and collaborations by the artist; preparatory and experimental works on paper (“study drawings”); a selection of preparatory maquettes for sculptures; publicity materials including exhibition invitations and press clippings; and comprehensive documentation (photographs and lists) of the artist’s finished work. Three paintings by art collector and patron Samuel Zacks are also included. Contains series: 1. Personal and literary records 2. Subject files 3. Project records 4. Preparatory and experimental works 5. Personal documents 6. Publicity material 7. Documentation of art work 8. Paintings by Samuel Zacks Custodial history: The materials now constituting the Sorel Etrog fonds were transferred directly from the artist’s studio to the Art Gallery of Ontario in April, September and December, 2014. Notes: Immediate source of acquisition: AGO Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Sorel Etrog, 2014 Page 2 of 64 Sorel Etrog Fonds Language: Some material is in Hebrew, Romanian, or Italian. Restrictions on access: Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information. Terms governing use and reproduction / publication: Copyright is held by the Sorel Etrog Estate. Copyright belonging to other parties, such as that of photographs, may still rest with the creator of these items. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds. Associated material: An inventory of Sorel Etrog’s library (2014) is available on request. A selection of these books was acquired by the E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives. An inventory of Sorel Etrog’s art collection (2014) is available on request. A selection of these works was acquired by the Art Gallery of Ontario for the permanent collection. Accruals: No further accruals are expected. Provenance access point: Etrog, Sorel, 1933-2014 SERIES 1: PERSONAL AND LITERARY RECORDS Dates of creation: 1921–2002 Extent: 53 cm of textual records 463 photographs 44 works on paper Scope and content: Series comprises a varied group of records that were kept together by Sorel Etrog in a private filing cabinet, including personal photographs; experimental writing, correspondence with literary figures including Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Claude Aveline and Morley Callaghan; and correspondence and related records pertaining to Samuel and Ayala Zacks. Brief correspondence with Pierre Trudeau, Marshall McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller is also included. Several drawings are contained among these files; they are set apart from the study drawings in Series 4 by their integral relationship to other materials in this series. Arrangement is based on the artist’s physical grouping of these records. Similar material may be found in Series 2: Subject files. Notes: The following publications were located among the files in this series; they will be moved to the rare book collection of the E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives: 1. Beckett, Samuel. Imagination Dead Imagine (London: Calder and Boyars, 1965); 1st commercial ed., inscribed to Sorel Etrog from the author, 1969 2. Beckett, Samuel. Cascando and Other Short Dramatic Pieces (New York: Grove, c.1969); inscribed to Sorel Etrog from the author Page 3 of 64 Sorel Etrog Fonds 3. Beckett, Samuel et al [including Sorel Etrog]. New Writing and Writers 20 (London: Calder, 1983) 4. As No Other Dare Fail: To Samuel Beckett on his 80 th Birthday by his friends and admirers (London: John Calder/New York: Riverrun Press). Numbered edition, #23 (Illustration of Beckett by Etrog on p. 100; Etrog’s written contribution pp. 101-105) 5. Etrog, Sorel. Dream Chamber / Cage, John. About Roaratorio (Toronto: Black Brick, 1982); inscribed to Sorel Etrog from John Cage 6. Sonia Delaunay (exhibition catalogue, Galerie du Perron, Genève, 1969) 7. Duchamp, Marcel. Rotoreliefs (1935) [multiple artwork] 8. Ancient and Primitive Art from the Collection of Barry Kernerman Ltd. (exhibition catalogue, Jerrold Morris Gallery, Toronto, 1969? 9. A Selection from the Ayala and Sam Zacks Collection (Toronto: Art Gallery of Toronto, 1956) 10. African Tribal Art from the Collection of Sam and Ayala Zacks (Toronto: Hart House, 1970) 11. Sam Zacks: Fifty Paintings (Toronto: York University, 1984) Some correspondence is in French, Romanian, or Hebrew. Related records may be found in Series 2: Subject files, including correspondence from Claude Aveline. File list: FILE TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX - DATE DATE FOLDER # Early 1921 1958 1 folder containing letter from the Art 1–1 documents School of the Brooklyn Museum, certificate de promovare, newspaper clippings Early 1957 1975 Correspondence from various parties 1–2 correspondence including Ralph Segalman and the Royal -various Canadian Academy of Arts, invoice, sketch [Automatic 1986 1986 Notebook containing collaborated 1–3 poem – P.R. & handwritten automatic poem S.E.] [Automatic 1998 2000 Notebook containing handwritten 1–4 poem automatic poem (unsigned)] Unsigned [19--] [19--] 1 painting mounted on board 1–5 painting A Bistingo Tale [19--] [19--] Small notepad containing handwritten 1–6 automatic poem and sketches [Sketch pad [19--] [19--] 8 drawings 1–7 w/Links drawings] (8) [Two loose [19--] [19--] 2 drawings 1–8 drawings] Page 4 of 64 Sorel Etrog Fonds FILE TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX - DATE DATE FOLDER # 1957-1958 1957 1958 1 photograph : b&w print 1–9 Letters of recommendation, 2 copies of photograph, press clipping in Hebrew 1959-1960 1959 1960 Correspondence from various parties 1–10 including the Art Gallery of Toronto and the Museum Tel Aviv and others 1961 1959 1965 Correspondence from various parties 1–11 including the Guggenheim Museum, letters for recommendation of Canadian citizenship 1962 1962 1962 Correspondence with Rijksmuseum 1–12 regarding shipment of “Complexes of a Young Lady”, consignment/sale record for “Oriental” 1963 [1963] [1969] Correspondence and documents with 1–13 various parties including the Museum of Modern Art and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 1965 1965 1965 Correspondence with various parties 1–14 including Museo D’Arte Moderna in Legnano, Milan 1966 [1965] [1971] Correspondence with various parties 1–15 including Museum Tel Aviv, the National Gallery of Canada and others, detailing exhibiting, purchasing and shipping works, as well as arrangements for Sculpture ‘67 1967 1967 1967 Correspondence and memoranda with 1–16 various parties including the National Gallery of Canada and others 1968 1968 1968 3 drawings 1–17 Correspondence with various parties 1969 1969 [1970] Correspondence with various parties 1–18 including Laxmi Sihare of the Birla Academy of Art & Culture 1970 1970 1970 Correspondence with various parties and 1–19 press release for Beckett/Zacks Tribute 1971 1971 1971 Correspondence with various parties 1–20 1972 1972 1972 Correspondence with various parties 1–21 Page 5 of 64 Sorel Etrog Fonds FILE TITLE START END CONTENTS BOX - DATE DATE FOLDER # 1973 1973 1973 Correspondence with various parties, such 1–22 as Nathan Cummings and W.J. Withrow, invitation 1974 1974 1974 Correspondence with various parties 1–23 1975 [1976] [1976] Letter from Carol K. Uht 1–24 1980 1980 1980 Press release and itinerary for the “Ritual 1–25 Head” and “Rushman” unveiling ceremony Letters to Sorel 1961 1976 Correspondence with various parties, 1–26 including Peter Perrin of the Canadian Film Awards, John Calder, Art Gallery of Toronto, loan receipt, photocopied Dream Chamber / About Roaratorio title page with dedication to Etrog from John Cage from Dream Chamber / About Roaratorio , copy of a drawn portrait [Various 1970s 1970s Correspondence with various parties 1–27 correspondence regarding Etrog’s work, including Eugène Re: S.E.’s work] Ionesco and Marshall McLuhan, exhibition list, photocopy of drawing [Various 1963 1982 Exhibition catalogue, correspondence from 1–28 correspondence various parties, press clipping, notes and & notes] drafts for W.B. Yeats’ The Black Tower [Various 1963 1978 List of works, introductory essay dedicated 1–29 correspondence to Etrog, various correspondence, press ] release [Canadian 1961 1972 1 drawing 1–30 Immigration, Correspondence regarding citizenship, Beckett/Zacks press releases for the Beckett/Zacks Tribute] Tribute “Official [196-] [197-] Toronto Police document on theft of 1–31 correspondence Etrog’s Chac. Mool (documentation) ” [Personal [196-] [197-] 15 photographs : b&w, col.