Overview of the Bern Schwartz photographs
Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2012
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Stanford University
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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
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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2012.
[Identification of item], Bern Schwartz photographs, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives
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."
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