Evelyn Svec Ward

Evelyn Svec Ward
Born	Evelyn Svec (1921-08-15)August 15, 1921 Solon, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, U.S.
Died	April 8, 1989(1989-04-08) (aged 67) Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Otterbein University, University of Paris
Occupation	Fiber artist
Spouse	William E. Ward

Evelyn Svec Ward (née Evelyn Svec; 1921–1989) was an American fiber artist, she was known for her abstract textile work. She was influenced by Mexican handicrafts and Mexican traditional fiber.[1] She worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the textiles department for almost 10 years, before embarking on her career as an artist.[1]

Early life and education

Evelyn Svec was born on August 15, 1921, in Solon, Ohio, to parents Lydia (née Pravda) and Charles Svec.[2] She was raised in Maple Heights, Ohio, and graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1939.[3]

She received a B.A. degree (1943) from Otterbein College (now Otterbein University).[3][4] One summer in 1952, she studied at University of Paris (Sorbonne).[3]

Career

From 1948 until 1955, Ward had worked at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the textiles department under curator Dorothy G. Payer Sheperd.[5][3][6] In 1952, she married William E. Ward (artist) [Wikidata], he was an exhibition designer at the Cleveland Museum of Art.[7][3] They honeymooned in the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico.[8] After their honeymoon, the couple annually traveled to Mexico, a place that influenced her work.[5][8]

She would use Mexican local materials and fibers in her work including from the maguey cactus (agave americana), zacate root, and amate bark paper.[5] She expressed in interviews feeling a connection to history through the materials.[5]

Death and legacy

She died in the hospital on April 8, 1989, in Cleveland. In 1991, her work was featured in a postmortem retrospective exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art.[1]

Her work can be found in public museum collections including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[9] the Art Institute of Chicago,[10] Cleveland Museum of Art,[11] Minneapolis Institute of Art,[12] and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.[13]

References

1. "Evelyn Svec Ward". Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
2. Who's Who in the Midwest. Vol. 16. A.N. Marquis. 1978. p. 734. ISBN 978-0-8379-0716-1.
3. Evelyn Svec Ward: Retrospective. Cleveland Museum of Art, Battelle Fine Arts Center. Otterbein College. 1990.
4. Miniature Fiber Arts: A National Exhibition, Issue 16444. Laurel Reuter, Armory for the Arts (Santa Fe), Textile Workshops, Inc. Textile Workshops, Incorporated. 1980. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-9604110-0-9.
5. Shin, Dorothy (1991-01-06). "Works by Northeast Fiber Artist Show Her Fascination For The Distance Past". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 40. Retrieved 2022-04-26 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sheperd, Dorothy G. Payer". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
7. "William E. Ward". ClevelandArtsPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
8. Richards, Christopher L. (2015-11-23). "Into the Canvas: Post-Painterly Abstraction in Cleveland". Collective Arts Network - CAN Journal. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
9. "Mixteca Series #15, 1984". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
10. "Evelyn Svec Ward". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
11. Carnegie Magazine. Vol. 55. The Institute. 1981. p. 19.
12. "Compuesta, Evelyn Svec Ward". Minneapolis Institute of Art. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
13. "Cadena de oro (Chain of Gold)". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-04-26.