Joan M. Schwartz  

Highlights

Accomplished archivist and archival scholar specializing in the history and functional context of photographic records; leader within the Public/National Archives of Canada and later at Queen’s University; has served in various capacities on the editorial board of Archivaria.  

Education and Background 

Raised in Toronto, Joan Schwartz received a BA (Honours) from the University of Toronto (1973), an MA from the University of British Columbia (1977), and a PhD from Queen’s University (1998), all in Historical Geography. She went on to hold a SSHRCC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Art History at Queen’s University (2002-3). 

Professional Career  

Joan joined the Public Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada) in 1977, serving in Photography Acquisition and Research, initially as a photo-archivist (1977-1986), then as section chief (1986-1998), and finally as senior specialist (1999-2003). During her time with the Archives, Joan was an early leader in the study and establishment of visual records as archival materials and material objects in themselves, and not merely as illustrations or secondary to textual records. In 2003 she left the Archives to join the faculty of Queen’s University as associate professor in the Department of Art with a cross-appointment to Geography. She was promoted to the rank of full professor in 2015, when she also became head of Art History and Art Conservation. Joan was appointed Professor Emerita when she retired in 2022. In addition to her work at Queen’s, she has been an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of History at Carleton University since 2002. She capped off her academic career as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor in the Centre for the Geo Humanities at Royal Holloway, University of London (2022-2023). 

Contributions to the Profession  

As a result of her work and scholarship, Joan helped establish an understanding of the functional context of visual archives. In the words of Dr. Tom Nesmith, one of her nominators for ACA fellowship, “Joan and her archival colleagues literally put the history of photography on the intellectual map in Canada … She is an international leader in the field of archives and photographic records.” Long known for her research areas, her impact and influence in the fields of archives, historical geography, and photographic history is considerable. In addition to her many journal articles, book chapters, and co-edited volume Picturing Place: Photography and the Geographical Imagination (2003), Joan has curated several exhibitions and guest edited special issues of BC Studies (1982), History of Photography (1996), and Scientia Canadensis (2020). 

Schwartz served as a member of the editorial board for Archivaria volumes 17 through 22, as the Associate Editor for Archivaria17, and Assistant Editor for Archivaria6 through 18; she later acted as a guest editor for the special section in number 61, “Archives: Space and Power”. With Terry Cook, she guest-edited two double issues of Archival Science on Archives, Records, and Power (2002) and, more recently, she served as the co-editor of the joint ACA/SAA publication of All Shook Up: The Archival Legacy of Terry Cook (2020). She has delivered distinguished lectures on photographic archives around the world and since 2020 has been a member of the International Advisory Board for the Institute of Art History at the Czech Academy of Sciences.  

Honours, Awards and Recognition   

• National Archives of Canada 125^th Anniversary Award, 1992  
• Archivaria W. Kaye Lamb Prize, 1996 and 2000  
• Society of American Archivists Fellow, 2008  
• Canadian Association of Geographers Award for Service to Government or Business, 2010  
• Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow, 2012  
• Royal Society of Canada Fellow, 2016  
• ACA Fellow, 2022  

• Carter, Rodney G.S. “Joan Schwartz.” In The Encyclopedia of Archival Writers, 1515-2015. Edited by Luciana Duranti and Patricia C. Franks. Lanham, ML: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015.  
• Norman Vorano, Dec 21, 2022, “Congratulations to Prof. Joan Schwartz on her retirement!” Queen’s University Department of Art History & Art Conservation. https://www.queensu.ca/art/congratulations-prof-joan-schwartz-her-retirement   

Photo source: Bernard Clark, Queen’s University (ACA files)

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