Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is proud to announce its acquisition of an important collection of the works of Hungarian-Canadian documentary photographer Gabor Szilasi. This acquisition covers nearly seven decades of Szilasi's life and career, and contains more than 80,000 negatives and 42 photographic prints, including negatives of early photographs taken in Hungary during the uprising against the Soviet invasion, as well as photographic prints captured in rural Quebec and Montréal. This substantial addition to LAC's collection will become part of the Gabor Szilasi fonds: a collection of the artist's works that LAC has been compiling since the 1970s.
Gabor Szilasi is a nationally and internationally renowned documentary photographer, and the recipient of the prestigious Governor General's Award for lifetime achievement (2010) as well as the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas (2009), the highest distinction awarded to an individual for outstanding contributions to the visual arts, fine crafts or digital arts in Quebec. He has exhibited widely both across Canada and internationally. His work can be found in the collections of many notable Canadian galleries and museums, including the National Gallery of Canada.
