Arnold Daghani's Modernist Struggle in Postwar Romania Examined in Academic Research

Deborah Schultz from the University of Sussex explores the challenges faced by Modernist artist Arnold Daghani in Romania during the late 1940s and 1950s. Daghani, who lived from 1909 to 1985, serves as a case study for understanding artistic aspirations under difficult historical circumstances. This analysis forms part of a broader series focusing on contemporary art and architecture in East-Central Europe. Initial research was presented at an MIT conference in October 2001. The University of Sussex houses an extensive collection of approximately 6,000 artworks and documents by Daghani. Funding for this ongoing project comes from the Leverhulme Trust, supporting work from 2001 through 2004. The essay appears in ARTMargins Online in April 2002, examining themes of displacement and identity through Daghani's experience.