REELS 826-827: 697 letters, including letters to her parents and her future husband Alan Fink, and letters from Bernard Chaet, Maxine Kumin, Tillie Olsen, Anne Sexton, Andrew Stevovich, Elbert Weinberg, and the Cober Gallery; a 15-page diary; a scrapbook containing photographs, clippings, catalogs and miscellany; and many loose clippings and catalogs.
UNMICROFILMED: Photographs of Swan, Ellsworth Kelly, and other students of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston School; letters relating to Swan's career and from friends and relatives, including Bernard and Ninon Chaet and Edwin and Rosalind Miller; Christmas cards by Swan and other artists; drafts and a transcription of a talk by Swan on Harold Tovish; exhibition announcements and catalogs; clippings; and printed material on Anne Sexton.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator, draftsman, and lithographer; Boston, Mass. Studied at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Karl Zerbe. Ellsworth Kelly was also a student there. Swan collaborated as an illustrator with poets Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin.
Provenance:
Material on reels 826-827 was lent for microfilming in June of 1974 by Barbara Swan. She donated the photographs of Ellsworth Kelly in December 1974, and letters, writings, exhibition catalogs and miscellaneous printed material in 1992. Additional papers are expected.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Barbara Swan letters to Rosalind and Edwin Miller measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1961 to 1991. The letters document Swan's deep friendship with the Millers. Swan discusses many topics including her husband's career at Alpha Gallery, her own artwork and career, and personal issues.
Scope and Contents:
The Barbara Swan letters to Rosalind and Edwin Miller measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1961 to 1991. The letters document Swan's deep friendship with the Millers. Swan discusses many topics including her husband's career at Alpha Gallery, her own artwork and career, and personal issues.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Boston, Massachusetts painter, draftsman, and lithographer Barbara Swan (1922-2003) is associated with the Boston Expressionists and later focused on still-life paintings.
Rosalind Miller (1923-2002) was a professor of psychiatric social work at Columbia University. Edwin Miller (1929- ) is a Walt Whitman scholar and biographer of Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Millers are collectors of American textiles.
Provenance:
Donated 1992 by Rosalind Miller.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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.
