Finding Aid for the Danielle Avidan and Anna Mireille Abitbol Papers LSC.2407
Finding aid prepared by Jasmine Larkin, 2024.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 2024 January 31.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Danielle Avidan and Anna Mireille Abitbol papers
Creator:
Avidan, Danielle
Creator:
Abitbol, Anna Mireille, 1908-1995
Donor:
Avidan, Danielle
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2407
Physical Description:
2.7 linear feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1907-1980
Abstract: Materials relate to the lives and careers of Danielle Avidan and her mother, Anna Mireille Abitbol. Materials consist of photographs,
photo albums, drawings, sketches, and ephemera.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections material
must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Danielle Avidan, 2018.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Danielle Avidan and Anna Mireille Abitbol papers (Collection 2407). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Elizabeth Gost, under the supervision of Jasmine Larkin, 2024.
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Biographical History
Danielle Avidan, née Abitbol, was born in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French Protectorate, on September 25, 1938. She attended
the College Mers-Sultan and earned her Baccalaureate in 1957 and subsequently, a business degree in Paris, France, in 1963.
Her first job was as a translator for Revlon in Paris. She then returned to Morocco in 1966 to work in public relations for
the new Hilton Hotel in Rabat, and later as a travel coordinator for Pan American World Airways.
Danielle emigrated to Los Angeles in 1973, where she rejoined Hilton Hotels. She married Bernard Avidan, an attorney in family
practice and they established their home in Pacific Palisades.
Her mother, Anna Mireille Abitbol (1908-1995), joined her in Los Angeles soon after. Anna Abitbol was born and educated in
Oran, Algeria, then a French Colony. She attended a private Catholic school but being Jewish, was exempted from daily catechism,
instead spending her time drawing and sketching. She went on to win First Prize in the "Centennial of Algeria" contest in
1930 and to study at the Beaux-Arts School in Paris. She became the youngest exhibitor and one of only two female artists
to participate in the 1937 Salon d'Automne in the Grand Palais. She also took private classes in St. Germain-des-Prés and
trained to reproduce Old Master paintings at the Louvre.
At the onset of WWII, and in view of rising anti-Semitism, she was forced to leave France and relocate to Casablanca. She
regularly exhibited at the Lorenzo Quarello Gallery and traveled extensively throughout the country, where she painted watercolors
depicting scenes of everyday life in Southern Morocco.
Mireille died in Los Angeles. Her watercolor "Still Life with Fans", which she exhibited in Paris, is part of the permanent
collection at the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles.
Source: Biography written by donor, Danielle Avidan, 2024.
Scope and Content
Materials relate to the lives and careers of Danielle Avidan and her mother, Anna Mireille Abitbol. Materials consist of photographs,
photo albums, drawings, sketches, and ephemera.
Arrangement
The original arrangement of materials created by Danielle Avidan was retained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Avidan, Danielle -- Archives
Abitbol, Anna Mireille, 1908-1995 -- Archives
box 1, folder 1
Europe photographs
1955-1958
box 1, folder 3
Portrait photographs
1907-1908
box 1, folder 4
Portrait sketches
undated
box 3, folder 1
Dance card and notebook
undated
box 3, folder 3
School photographs
1945-1968
box 3, folder 4
Sketches and paintings
undated
