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The Swain Free School of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was established in 1881 through the provisions of the will of New Bedford philanthropist William W. Swain. The following year it began offering courses in languages, literature, history, education, art, and chemistry free of charge to area residents who could not otherwise afford an education beyond public school. They were required to put down a deposit of $10 per semester, as a measure of good faith. As the textile industry became increasingly important to the area, the school concentrated on instruction in textile design.

In 1902 the trustees redefined its mission as a School of Design, with the purpose of providing a "more complete and thorough course of instruction in the fundamental principles of design than had ever been given in this city and to provide also instruction in the practical application of these principles in all branches of decorative art."

In 1988 the Swain School of Design merged with Southeastern Massachusetts University's College of Visual and Performing Arts and is now part of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The College of Visual and Performing Arts transferred the Swain School of Design archives to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Library Archives and Special Collections in 2000, when preparations were being made to move the Purchase Street campus to the Star Store in downtown New Bedford.

The archives consist of the minutes of the Board of Trustees, 1879-1988, treasurer’s records, reports to the Board by the school’s directors, 1889-1988, the files of the last Swain directors, a full run of the school’s course catalogs, scrapbooks, gallery notices and some posters, dating from 1966 through the early 1980s. We do NOT have more than a handful of photographs, and no yearbooks, student work or curricular materials other than what is published in the catalogs.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE

The Timeline is illustrated by Swain's striking catalog covers, many of which were designed by students, as a result of an annual competition. In the teens, $10 was the prize for the best cover art. Many of the covers are on final linoleum , woodblock, or silkscreen prints. Each cover is a link to a thumbnail image of the art. Select the date range below for a link to that decade in Swain's history.

List of Swain Buildings

Chronology of Presidents

Swain Records at UMD

Swain alumni sites :

Sandro Bassi

Scatter good Moore

UMD alumni office

Although we are dedicated to preserving the records of The Swain School of Design permanently, as part of the University’s archives, the Swain School is not documented well enough! Help us to keep the school from fading from memory. Those who taught, studied and worked at the Swain School are its institutional memory. If you have any items to donate, or would be willing to be interviewed on tape about your experience at Swain, please contact Judy Farrar (email and phone number at left). We would like to organize an oral history project to interview faculty, administrators and alumni connected with the School. We need volunteers to do the interviewing; we supply equipment and tapes and will help with topics to discuss.