Object Details
- Creator
- Swift, Mary
- Names
- Mehring, Howard, 1931-
- Occupation
- Curators -- Washington (D.C.)
- Photographers -- Washington (D.C.)
- Topic
- Women art critics
- Provenance
- This collection was donated in three installments in 2016, 2018 and 2023 by Mary Swift via her children, Isabel Swift Byron and William Swift.
- Creator
- Swift, Mary
- See more items in
- Mary Swift papers
- Sponsor
- The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
- Summary
- The papers of photographer and curator Mary Swift measure 8.8 linear feet and date from 1973-2004. The bulk of the collection contains photographs that Swift took while working for the Washington Review. The images consist of photographs, contact sheets, and negatives, along with 3 photograph albums of artists and art events in Washington, D.C. Also included are some personal papers; two video recordings of art events in Washington, D.C.; research material and a manuscript from Swift's M.A. thesis "Howard William Mehring, 1931-1978: Washington Color Painter" from George Washington University; and 107 sound recordings and two VHS videocassette tapes of interviews conducted by Swift, radio programs and panel discussions.
- Biographical / Historical
- Mary Swift (1929-2022) was a photographer and curator in Washington, D.C. She received her B.A. from Vassar College in 1950 with a major in English History. Swift then moved to London for her husband's work, and did not return to the United States until the 1960s. She received her M.A. from Catholic University's Speech and Drama Department in 1968, and an M.A. in Art History from George Washington University in 1978. In October 1977, Swift became a production assistant for the Washington Review, a bi-monthly broadsheet on DC cultural life, while finishing her master's thesis at George Washington University. She was promoted to associate editor in 1978, and became managing editor of the arts section in 1980. While at the Washington Review, Swift also worked as a curator and curatorial assistant on exhibitions in Washington, D.C. She worked as a curatorial assistant for Howard Mehring: A Retrospective Exhibition (1977-1978) at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; as a co-curator with Walter Hopps for the exhibition, Eminent Washington Artists: Benjamin Abramowitz, Sarah Baker, Leon Berkowitz, Robert Gates, Sy Gresser, Lois Milou Jones, Jacob Kainen, Alfred McAdams, James McLaughlin, Howard Mehring, Marjorie Phillips, John Robinson, Alma Thomas (1980), at the Art Barn Gallery; and curated, Drawings: 13 Washington Sculptors; Christenberry, Dickson, Fleps, Haley, Knights, Krebs, Lombardo, Mahoney, Puryear, Rudd, Schwebler, Staton, Truitt (1980), at the Diane Brown Gallery. The professional appointments Swift held include exhibitions coordinator for the International Sculpture Conference in 1980 as well as board of director memberships at the Washington Gallery of Art, Charles Weidman Dance Company, the Washington Review, and the Washington Project for the Arts. Additionally, Swift was involved with her alma mater, Vassar College, in the capacity of Vice present for Programs of the Vassar Club of Washington, and Chairman of the Washington Friends of the Vassar Art Gallery. Mary Swift's contributions to the Washington Review include photographs, reviews of art exhibitions, and interviews with artists such as choreographer Lucinda Childs and painter Robert Indiana. The exhibition catalogues Swift contributed to include Breton Morse, Paintings 1960-1978 (1978), Sy Gresser—Sculpture (1978), Howard Mehring: A Retrospective Exhibition (1977-1978), and Hands of Artists (1981) Photographs from Swift's collection were displayed in an exhibition, Mary Swift's Washington (2005), held at Flashpoint Gallery.
- Extent
- 8.8 Linear feet
- Date
- 1973-2004
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Identifier
- AAA.swiftmar
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Sound recordings
- Video recordings
- Interviews
- Citation
- Mary Swift Papers, 1974-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement
- This collection is arranged as five series. Series 1: Personal Papers, 1973-1984 (Box 1; 2 Folders) Series 2: "Howard William Mehring 1931-1978: Washington Color Painter", circa 1977-1978 (Box 1; 12 Folders) Series 3: Photographs, circa 1977-2004 (Box 1-6, 15-16; 6.1 linear feet) Series 4: Sound and Video Recordings, 1977-1995 (Boxes 6, 8-14; 2.3 linear feet)
- Processing Information
- The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2019. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2022.
- Rights
- The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Mary Swift's M.A. thesis, "Howard William Mehring, 1931-1978: Washington Color Painter," is available on 35mm microfilm reel 2762 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Genre/Form
- Sound recordings
- Video recordings
- Interviews
- Scope and Contents
- The papers of photographer and curator Mary Swift measure 8.8 linear feet and date from 1973-2004. The bulk of the collection contains photographs that Swift took while working for the Washington Review. The images consist of photographs, contact sheets, and negatives, along with 3 photograph albums of artists and art events in Washington, D.C. Also included are some personal papers; two video recordings of art events in Washington, D.C.; research material and a manuscript from Swift's M.A. thesis "Howard William Mehring, 1931-1978: Washington Color Painter" from George Washington University; and 107 sound recordings and two VHS videocassette tapes of interviews conducted by Swift, radio programs and panel discussions.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment. Contact Reference Services for more information.
- Record ID
- ebl-1579644021109-1579644021126-0
In the Collection
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