Mary Hamilton Swindler

Mary Hamilton Swindler (January 2, 1884 – January 16, 1967) was an American archaeologist, classical art scholar, author, and professor of classical archaeology, most notably at Bryn Mawr College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan. Swindler also founded the Ella Riegel Memorial Museum at Bryn Mawr College. She participated in various archaeological excavations in Greece, Egypt, and Turkey. The recipient of several awards and honors for her research, Swindler's seminal work was Ancient Painting, from the Earliest Times to the Period of Christian Art.

Early life and education Mary Hamilton Swindler, nicknamed "Mayme", was born in Bloomington, Indiana, on January 2, 1884. Swindler attended public school in Bloomington

Upon graduation from high school, Swindler attended Indiana University Bloomington, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905 and a master's degree in 1906. She specialized in Greek, Latin, and archaeology studies.

Swindler continued her education at Bryn Mawr College. The college awarded Swindler a Greek fellowship in 1906–07. She was also the recipient of the Mary E. Garrett European Fellowship in 1909–10, which allowed her to pursue graduate studies at the University of Berlin and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, before returning to Bryn Mawr. Swindler earned a doctoral degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1912 and joined the Bryn Mawr faculty.

Career Swindler began her teaching career as an instructor of Latin and archaeology at Bryn Mawr College in 1912. From 1931 until her retirement in 1949, she was a professor of classical archaeology at Bryn Mawr. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Swindler founded the Ella Riegel Memorial Museum for Archaeology, also known as the Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Collection, in 1940 and the Ella Riegel Study Collection at Bryn Mawr College.

Awards and honors Swindler was regarded as an authority on ancient Greek paintings and received numerous honors and awards, 1943 – elected member of the American Philosophical Society. 1951 – American Association of University Women (Achievement Award of $2,500). 1959 – American Council of Learned Societies (Special Award of $10,000).

Affiliations Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London. Fellow of the German Archaeological Institute.

Selected published works Another Vase by the Master of the Penthesilea Cylix (1909) Cretan Elements in the Cults and Ritual of Apollo (1913) The Bryn Mawr Collection of Greek Vases (1916) Ancient Painting from the Earliest Times to the Period of Christian Art (1929)