Marc Chagall: Reflections of a Granddaughter

From the YIVO Archives Admission: $15 YIVO members: $10 Students (with ID): $5 Watch the video       *Reproduction of this image, including downloading of Chagall works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Marc Chagall is widely recognized as the preeminent Jewish artist of the 20th century, but little is known of his work to preserve Jewish culture. In this program, his granddaughter Bella Meyer interweaves images of Chagall’s artwork and personal letters to reflect on his life, passion for Yiddish and dedication to perpetuating Jewish heritage and culture. 

Poetry, letters, and materials of Marc Chagall from YIVO’s collection will be on display.

About the Speaker

Born in Paris and raised in Switzerland, Bella Meyer was born immersed in the world of art. She always painted while studying art history and obtaining her Ph.D in medieval art history from the Sorbonne. Bella taught art history, wrote numerous academic papers and delivered informative, first hand experiences in lecture form, of her grandfather Marc Chagall’s work. Invited to take on responsibilities for the Visual Arts at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Bella settled in New York, where she held this position for a number of years.  Adding to her expanding list of accomplishments, she has had her hand in costume design and mask-making for a number of theatre performances and also created many puppets for her own puppet show productions. Bella's passion for beauty and aesthetics, led her to become a floral designer. In a recent publication Bella describes her love for flowers, “to discover its essence—opening, life, death—is to experience an unimaginable mystery.” Bella founded FleursBELLA, a floral design and décor company, in 2005, focusing her talents on creating floral arrangements much in the way an artist paints.