An interesting collection of original portrait photographs of noted visual artists by the photographer James Arkatov, together with original letters from the artists to the photographer. The archive includes an 8 x 10 photograph of each of 8 artists from different fields, as photographed for Arkatov's 1998 collection Artists: The Creative Personality, with letters from the artists mostly concerning their photographs, with some ordering prints of their favorite images. The artists represented are: painter Richard Diebenkorn (TLS, August 14, 1991; 2 ALS, Mat 22, 1991 and n.d.); glass sculptor Dale Chihuly (2 autograph faxes: December 22, 1993; and n.d.; ALS, March 15, 1995); painter Helen Frankenthaler (2 TLS, June 17, 1992; July 30, 1992); architect Frank Gehry (2 TLS, March 31, 1999; June 21, 2001); Roy Lichtenstein (autograph note on a greeting card, n.d.); ceramicist Beatrice Wood (2 TLS, January 25, 1991; February 13, 1991); painter and sculptor Jasper Johns (TLS, July 13, 1992); and neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer (2 TLS, February 11, 1992; April 3, 1992). In very fine condition overall.

Cellist and photographer James Arkatov was born in Odessa, Russia and raised in San Francisco. He served as principal cellist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as founding and playing in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. His long experience in photographing artists and musicians culminated in two collections of photography, Masters of Music: Great Artists at Work (1990) and Artists: The Creative Personality (1998).