Prominent Latvian Art Scholar Skaidrīte Riņķe Passes Away
On July 29, Skaidrīte Riņķe, an art scholar, publicist and editor who spent over half a century researching and popularizing Latvian visual art, died at the age of 95.
Skaidrīte Riņķe was born in 1928. After studying journalism at the University of Latvia, graduating in 1953, she worked as a correspondent for the Latvian Telegraph Agency, then for the newspaper "Rīgas Balss", the factory newspaper "Radiotehniķis", and as editor of the Riga Polytechnic Institute's newspaper "Jaunais Inženieris".
Her first art publication appeared in 1958, focusing on painter Edgars Iltners. Over her career, she contributed to more than 25 newspapers and magazines, including "Padomju Jaunatne", "Cīņa", "Liesma", "Zvaigzne", "Literatūra un Māksla", and "Karogs". She compiled exhibition catalogues, such as for the 3rd and 4th Republican Poster Exhibitions. She authored texts for the collection "Latviešu tēlotāja māksla" (1975) and the publication "Lietišķās mākslas kombināts "Māksla"" (1983).
Riņķe specialized in Latvian poster art, writing about artists such as Georgs Smelters, Gunārs Kirke, Laimonis Šēnbergs, and Jānis Reinbergs. She wrote the script for the documentary "Dzīves kolorīts" (1974) and contributed to films about Mākslas dienas (Art Days). She also produced several Latvian Radio programs on artists and exhibitions.
In 1975, she was admitted to the Art Scholars Section of the Latvian Artists Union (LMS). From 1969, she led LMS creative sections, served on the Mākslas dienas commission, and worked as chief artist at the Applied Art Combine "Māksla" (1979–1982). From 1981 to 1987, she was secretary of the LMS public editorial board. In the 1990s, she served as art director for the Dundaga Castle Revival Fund.
The Latvian Artists Union expresses condolences to her family and colleagues. A farewell ceremony will be held on August 4 at 1:00 PM at Riga Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church, followed by burial at Riga's First Forest Cemetery Artists' Hill.
