Background
Swann was born Anna Valetta Hayman-Joyce in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1904.
Swann was born Anna Valetta Hayman-Joyce in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1904.
She lived with him in London, where she attended the Warwick Art School and later the Central Art School.
She collaborated with him with drawing and photographs of indigenous life here and in Mexico. Malinowski died in 1942, and Swann decided to live permanently in Mexico City, having her first individual exhibition at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1945. She had more than fifty individual exhibitions of her work in Mexico, the United States and Europe and her work was recognized with membership in Mexico’s Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.
Since her early childhood, she showed interest and talent in drawing and painting but had to struggle against a mother who was opposed to her vocation.
In 1930 she separated from Swann and abandoned painting for two and a half years, resuming again in 1933. In 1939, the couple moved to the United States where he was invited to teach at Yale University.
His research work took them to indigenous regions of the United States and Mexico, and Swann collaborated on projects such as studying the market systems of Oaxaca, contributing drawings and photographs to her husband’s text. Malinowski died in 1942, and Swann then settled permanently in Mexico City.
Swann began exhibited her work in Europe in the 1930s, especially in the Wertheim Gallery in London and the Zak Gallery in Paris.
Her first exhibition in Mexico was at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1945, where it received very favorable attention. During her career, she had more than fifty individual exhibitions in Mexico, the United States and Europe. She also participated in collective exhibitions such as the 12 painters from Mexico at the Velentin Gallery in Zurich.
She created several portable murals such as Cosmic Symphony in 1960 and The Delights in 1964.
She also created bronze sculptures such as Woman’s Torso in 1960. Swann’s work was recognized with membership in Mexico’s Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.