The book is based on the documentary heritage and photographs stored in the archives of the Antanas Mončys House-Museum. The correspondence, much of which is presented in this book, covers the period 1949–1993, and the geography of the addressees' places of residence is very wide: Lithuania, USA, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Australia. The book publishes the best letters revealing the creative path of A. Mončys - from the first steps in emigration, the Freiburg School of Arts and Crafts to recognition abroad and in Lithuania. The publication presents the most important dates in A. Mončys' life and work, which will help the reader to get a better overall picture from the fragments of events reflected in the letters, and a detailed introductory article by Giedrė Asin Marco. Various connections can be traced from A. Mončys' correspondence: his relations with compatriots in emigration, and later with compatriots in Lithuania, especially after the restoration of state independence in the 1990s, when Lithuania "discovered" the work of this sculptor after the opening of the Iron Barrier. An important part of the correspondence consists of correspondence related to the return of A. Mončys' works to their homeland and the establishment of a house-museum. Letters from A. Mončys to family, friends, artists, cultural and public figures, authorities, as well as letters to the sculptor were written not only in Lithuanian, but also in French, English, German, and even Samogitian (their translations into Lithuanian are in a different color in the book). In order to maintain the authenticity of the correspondence, the language of the correspondence was not edited, only the spelling was corrected, and sometimes, for clarity, the punctuation. Facsimile originals of some letters are published. Some of A. Mončys' letters were returned to the museum by the respondents (Julius Veblaitis, Isolde Poželaitė-Davis, Jonas Mockūnas, other compatriots living in emigration; A. Mončys' letters sent to Palubinskas were handed over by Vladas Palubinskas' widow Nijolė Vedegytė-Palubinskienė). Another part of the original material - the sculptor's letters sent to his family in Lithuania, was handed over to the museum by A. Mončys' sister Birutė Turauskienė. Drafts of letters prepared by friends and various institutions were handed over to the museum archives by A. Christis' children Jean Christophe, Andreas and Sabina. It is obvious that a large part of the artist's correspondence is still with its addressees in Lithuania and abroad. We hope that this book will be an incentive for anyone with sculptor's letters or other documentary heritage to pass them on to the museum, supplementing the archive of A. Mončys' legacy.
Žibuntas Mikšys
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