January–August 2000

Curator: Robin Meador-Woodruff

In 1919 and 1920, photographer George R. Swain accompanied Francis Kelsey on an expedition that circled through Europe and the Mediterranean area. The purpose of the expedition was to document sites that were of interest to classical history scholars, as well as to identify sites that might have potential for future excavations. Among Swain's photographic equipment was a Cirkut camera, one of the earliest rotation cameras manufactured for commercial use.

Swain produced a series of magnificent panoramic views of many of the sites he and Kelsey visited. The photographs appear never to have been formally exhibited, nor were many, if any, of them published. This oversight was remedied in part with the exhibit of many of these images in the Kelsey's galleries from January 14 through August 2000. This unique portion of the Museum's photographic archives was displayed, along with a brief introduction to the cameras available to Swain at the time. In addition to his photographic activities, Swain was an avid diarist, and illuminating comments drawn from his journals made these vistas come alive for visitors to the galleries.