Naum Gabo

Description

This file contains 20 letters to Herbert Read from Naum Gabo, with associated material and correspondence from others relating to their letters. Carbon copies of some of Read's responses to Gabo, and several letters from Miriam Gabo to Margaret Read are included in the file. Read was introduced to Gabo by Ben Nicholson, and they remained friends for the rest of Read's life. The first letter in this file dates from 1943 and relates to a project undertaken by Gabo under the auspices of the Design Research Unit. It begins, 'I am amused, but not surprised, to hear that the Advertising Co. want some money back from me.' Several of the subsequent exchanges also see Read acting as an intermediary or negotiator on Gabo's behalf. Several misunderstandings seem to have arisen from the Lund Humphries publication of a book on Gabo. Gabo wrote to E.C. [Peter] Gregory, concerned that James Sweeney had been dropped from writing the initial introduction (to be written by Herbert Read); and later
voiced concerns over the translations of the book. Read intervened in both of these issues. Writing in March 1968, Gabo told Read, 'I think that probably every human had the wish to find in his life at least one dear friend who could almost, or perhaps even more than, be a brother. I consider myself a lucky man that I found you.'

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