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Schwartz (Bern) photographs
2012C18  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content Note

  • Title: Bern Schwartz photographs
    Date (inclusive): 1974-1978
    Collection Number: 2012C18
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 1 oversize box (0.5 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Portraits of prominent British and other political figures.
    Creator: Schwartz, Bern
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

    Use

    For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Acquisition Information

    Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2012.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Bern Schwartz photographs, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Biographical Note

    Bern Schwartz (1914-1978) took up photography at the age of sixty after a successful career in business. In that short career, Schwartz captured some two hundred distinguished personalities on film.
    Combining extensive research on his subjects' interests with his own experience and charm, Schwartz was able to converse intelligently and establish the rapport necessary to create portraits that captured the essence of his subjects. His photographic encounters often ripened into enduring friendships with some of the world's leading figures.
    Schwartz's work was published in Contemporaries: Portraits by Bern Schwartz. In his forward to the book, art historian Kenneth Clark wrote, "I believe historians ... will find these photographs an invaluable guide to the intellectual life of the time. Meanwhile, we can enjoy them as wholly admirable examples of the art of photography."

    Scope and Content Note

    The collection contains thirty-four portraits of prominent British and other political figures. Among the images are those of royalty, heads of state, diplomats, military leaders, and literary figures, including Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, four Israeli prime ministers, and journalist and author Malcolm Muggeridge. Thatcher chose Schwartz's portrait for her 1978 campaign poster, and a 1982 commemorative first-day cover commemorative stamp in England features Schwartz's portrait of Lord Mountbatten.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Great Britain -- Politics and government -- Pictorial works