Fonds F0100 - Helen Lucas fonds

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Title proper

Helen Lucas fonds

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  • Textual record
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Fonds

Reference code

F0100

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Physical description

13 containers of graphic material and textual records

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1931-2023)

Biographical history

Helen Lucas (artist) was born in 1931 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, to Greek parents, Eftihia and William Geatros. She studied at the Ontario College of Art (Toronto) from 1950-1954, and was Drawing and Painting Master at Sheridan College (Oakville, Ont.) from 1973-1979. Her early works were figurative pieces in black and white, and later works were colourful floral paintings. She has exhibited her art works widely in Canada, the United States, and Italy, published drawings and text in several publications, and was an active participant in Canadian Women studies projects. In 1991 York University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Letters and she received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Her life was featured in an award-winning, hour-long documentary produced by Donna Davey that was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1996. Lucas died on 27 November 2023.

Custodial history

Scope and content

Fonds consists of Helen Lucas' correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, The Diary Series (1971-1978), and Relationship Drawings (1978-1981) (both of which include 246 charcoal drawings, 40 sketches, 34 drawings, 5 etchings, 47 lithographs, 3 framed serigraphs, 1 sketchbook, and 1 pastel on paper); preliminary drawings for Angelica (Toronto: Kakabeka Publishing Co.,1973) and Genesis; twelve original collage drawings for the book co-authored by Helen Lucas and Margaret Laurence entitled The Christmas Birthday Story (1981) complemented with letters from Laurence while they were collaborating on the book; original prints (1970s); a sketchbook (1971); and Drawing Dedicated to my Daughter. Lucas provides an accompanying narrative to many of the drawings, giving a context for the works and an account of their evolution between 1971 and 1979. The initial sketchbook pages are also included, portraying intimate personal images which she likens to 'finding the achievement of my own voice'.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Accession 1994-040 and 1998-034 donated by the artist in 1994 and 1998.

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Finding aids

File lists appended as .PDF document.

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Accruals

The fonds comprises the following accession: 1994-040 and 1998-034. Further accruals are expected.

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Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

2002/04/02 Jizi Chen. Created.
2002/10/10. Shannon MacDonald. Update wording in Accurals note.
2002/10/11 Ken Herden. Edited Scope and Content note.
2003/04/08 Shannon MacDonald. Add URL for online finding aid.
2003/05/13 Sean Smith. Updated extents and dates of creation to include accession 1998-034.
2019/01/07 KCP. Migrated from EES to AtoM. Added 1998-034 accession note.

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