TheUCLA Library has acquired the largest private collection ever assembled of rarematerials by and about modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (1877/78-1927).Built by Los Angeles attorney Howard Holtzman over a 30- year period, thecollection of some 1500 items includes manuscripts, correspondence,photographs, artwork, contracts and box office statements and ephemera. It is housed in the Charles E. Young ResearchLibrary Department of Special Collections.
"IsadoraDuncan is one of the most important artistic figures of the twentieth centuryas well as a native Californian, and this collection, one of the most extensivein the world, will be invaluable to students and scholars in a variety offields," said University Librarian Gary E. Strong. "A mere 18 days before her recent death,longtime donor Joan Palevsky made an extraordinarygift of the funds to acquire it. We aredeeply saddened by her passing, but we hope this collection, and the manyothers whose acquisitions she made possible, will form a lasting tribute to herexemplary generosity."
Amongthe collection's highlights are numerous manuscripts in Duncan's hand, manyunpublished, about dance, life, her artistic philosophy, teaching and herhusband; numerous writings including a diary by Edward Gordon Craig about his collaborationsand relationship with Duncan; 19 letters by Duncan's adopted daughter Irmaabout her mother; 75 original contracts for appearances in Moscow, St.Petersburg and many locations in Germany; and 39 box office statements.
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