This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
The Robert LaVigne Papers include correspondence, artwork, manuscripts, and event announcements related to the work of Robert LaVigne and his group of friends.
This collection is arranged in 3 series.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Robert Lavigne papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Kerouac letter to A. Brown, 23 March 1969, was returned to the Gotham Book Mart, 1 Dec. 1975. KAL/MBB
Papers: Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--1985. Accession number--M-1985.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Papers Processed HR 09/--/1985.
Papers Reprocessed Carrie Hintz 06/--/2010.
Finding Aid Written Carrie Hintz 06/--/2010.
2010-06-26 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Robert LaVigne (1928-2014) was a painter, illustrator, and theatrical set designer associated with the Beat Generation and poets of the San Francisco Renaissance.
LaVigne was born in St. Maries Idaho in 1928, but moved to San Francisco in 1951. There he became associated with a number of poets and counter-culture figures centered around the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, including Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, and Peter Orlovsky.
LaVigne met Orlovsky in a coffee shop in San Francisco and almost immediately took the younger man as his muse, bringing him to live with him as a model and lover. It was at LaVigne's studio that Allen Ginsberg first met and subsequently fell in love with Peter Orlovksy-- first his image in a large, nude portrait that LaVigne had painted, and then with the young man himself.
In San Francisco LaVigne worked as a painter, illustrator and a set designer for the San Francisco Actors Workshop. He also worked as the Art Director of the Auerhahn Press-- a small fine press that focused on the work of the San Francisco Renaissance poets.
Like many members of the Beat Generation, LaVigne moved between coasts, leaving San Francisco for New York in the 1960s. While working in New York he was a pioneer of the painting style known as psychedelic painting, and continued to work in the theater, earning an Obie award for Best Design for his work on A Midsummer Nights Dream and Endicott and the Red Cross.
LaVigne eventually returned to the west coast, moving to Seattle in the early 1980s. He died in Seattle on February 20, 2014.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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This series is comprised of letters and manuscripts composed by Robert LaVigne and his friends and associates. Because so many of LaVigne's friends were writers, there is a significant set of poetry manuscripts included on this series that were given to or reviewed by LaVigne.
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
Box 1 Folder 3
Box 1 Folder 4
Box 1 Folder 5
Box 1 Folder 6
Box 1 Folder 7
Box 1 Folder 8
(with notes and corrections by LaVigne)
Box 1 Folder 9
(including some omitted fromEmpty Mirrorand "Record of Dream 6 June 1955")
Box 1 Folder 10
Box 1 Folder 11
Box 1 Folder 12
Box 1 Folder 13
Box 1 Folder 14
(poem, with corrections)
Box 1 Folder 15
Box 1 Folder 16
Box 1 Folder 17
(poems by a number of individuals, including Allen Ginsberg, inspired by LaVigne's art)
Box 1 Folder 18
Box 1 Folder 19
Box 1 Folder 20
(two drafts)
Box 1 Folder 21
Box 1 Folder 22
Box 1 Folder 23
Box 1 Folder 24
Box 1 Folder 25
Box 1 Folder 26
(ballet commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet- file contains the first act)
Box 1 Folder 27
Box 1 Folder 28
Box 1 Folder 29
Box 1 Folder 30
Box 2 Folder 1
Box 2 Folder 2
This series includes paintings, sketches, prints, and paintings done by LaVigne, as well as artwork created by his friends. This series includes some of LaVigne's artwork, but also some of his design work including book cover designs and four costume designs for a performance of Picasso's Desire Caught by the Tail.
Box 2 Folder 3
Box 2 Folder 4
Box 2 Folder 5
(one watercolor sketch)
Box 2 Folder 6
Box 2 Folder 7
Mapcase 14-E-7
Mapcase 14-E-7
Mapcase 14-E-7
Mapcase 14-E-7
Box 2 Folder 8
Box 2 Folder 9
Mapcase 14-E-7
Mapcase 14-E-7
Item 13: D/E
Box 2 Folder 10
Box 2 Folder 11
Mapcase 14-E-7
Box 2 Folder 12
The Exhibition and Event Announcements series is comprised of notices of gallery events, art openings, and poetry readings, as well as publication catalogs and announcements from small, independent presses and publishers.
Box 2 Folder 13
Box 2 Folder 14
Box 2 Folder 15
Box 2 Folder 16
Box 2 Folder 17
Box 2 Folder 18
Box 2 Folder 19
Box 2 Folder 20
Box 2 Folder 21
Box 2 Folder 22
Box 2 Folder 23
Box 2 Folder 24
Box 2 Folder 25
Box 2 Folder 26
Box 2 Folder 27
Box 2 Folder 28