“Wherever she tarried, she had camera in hand, focusing its lenses with eyes gifted and long trained to catch what others tend to miss, to detect delicate beauty where others disdainfully see only the banal.”
—Rev. Monsignor Henry C. Bezou, cochairman of the Sesquicentennial Commission
Throughout her life, New Orleans native Betsy Swanson has immersed herself in the study of Louisiana history and art. Swanson earned a bachelor's of fine arts degree from Newcomb College, and after earning a master's of fine arts degree from Tulane University in 1966, she launched her career at the age of
twenty-one, freelancing as a photographic and historical contractor. Swanson went on to hold such positions as historian, photographer, archivist, and historical consultant and has contributed to dozens of books, magazines, and catalogs.
As an authority on the architecture of New Orleans, today Swanson is a
renowned photographer and historical expert who has exhibited her photography throughout Louisiana and New Mexico. Her passion for Louisiana history and photography can be seen in many of her published works, which expertly feature historic landmarks and buildings throughout the country. Along with her work as a photographer for several volumes in the New Orleans Architecture
Series, and William Aiken Walker: Southern Genre Painter,
Swanson is also the coauthor of New Orleans Architecture Volume II: The American Sector and editor and photographer for New Orleans Architecture Volume I: The Lower Garden District, all available
from Pelican. Ms. Swanson lives in Harahan, Louisiana.
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