Lyn Newton, administrator of the New Bedford Art Museum, said the Museum's newest exhibit, "Swain Resurgent," has been an idea long in the making.
"I'm not sure, but I think Richard Kellaway came up with the original idea," she said. "The museum has long wanted to feature the talent that was there at Swain School.
"Only Sig Haines of the Swain School faculty is still at UMass Dartmouth from the group absorbed in the merger," she said.
"The students and faculty are all over the country and it was quite a challenge to put the show together. We asked them to contribute a work which reflects their work in the '60s" as well as current work, she explained.
The exhibit is curated by Severin Haines with associate curators Carolyn Dlouhy and Deborah Healy.
"Some of the artists are as far away as Hawaii, (though) there are quite a few of the alumni still in the area. Or, in the case of Ron Kowalke there were works relatively close by" in local collections, Ms. Newton said.
The exhibit is a celebration of the Swain School of Design during the 1960s and will feature the work of 17 faculty and students of that time.
Representing the Swain School faculty are Sigmund Abeles, Ron Kowalke, Ed Lazansky, Joyce Reopel, David Loeffler Smith and Melvin Zabarsky. The Swain alumni exhibiting include Dennis Broadbent, Eliza (Lidie) Collins, Meredith Wildes-Cornell, William D'Elia, Richard Dougherty, Leonard Dufresne, Severin (Sig) Haines, John Hopkins, Robert (Tex) Lavery and Scattergood Moore.
The exhibit focuses on the period when Swain School shifted its focus from a mainly design education to an emphasis on fine arts. The school originally began as the Swain Free School, funded by a bequest of William Swain.
Classes were offered in designing various crafts, and the school offered its graduates a certificate when they completed their studies.
In 1962, David Loeffler Smith became director of the school, and Swain School put a stronger emphasis on fine arts. Catherine Crapo Bullard, granddaughter of William W. Crapo, proved to be a great benefactress to the school.
Professor Haines, exhibition curator, was present at the major transition in the '60s, and said that the faculty members included in the exhibit are representative of that shift.
"Some of the students from that time period have gone on to some degree of success. Those students selected are those who were well remembered as students by the faculty. They are represented by six to eight works each."
Mr. Haines commented, "Putting together this exhibit was a bit like playing detective. There was some difficulty in getting work by some people in the exhibit. Lenny Dufresne has a major reputation now and is in great demand for his works. ... But we had to do was run down collectors who owned them and they in turn lead us to still other collectors."
The curator continued, "I knew someone who owned a Ron Kowalke piece in the area. And he knew someone else who had a piece and I've been able to collect a few pieces for the exhibit that way."
Mr. Haines said that the time period represented by the exhibit was significant for the school and highly influential.
"At the local level, people did not always realize what they had here," Mr. Haines pointed out. "All the New York schools would take our students into their graduate programs. At one point, the Parsons School of Design in New York City had over 40 percent of its graduate students from Swain School of Design. These people in the exhibit were seminal in making this one of finest small art schools in America."
The public opening reception will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, with many of the artists planning to attend. Admission is free.
A Swain alumni reunion is planned from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Call Tina Bruen at (508) 999 -8010 to RSVP.
"Swain Resurgent," which will be on view through April 16, is sponsored through a generous grant by the Henry H. Crapo Charitable Foundation in honor of Catherine Crapo Bullard, benefactress of the Swain School.

The New Bedford Art Museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, except until 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for seniors and students, free for children under 17 when accompanied by an adult and for members. The New Bedford Art Museum is handicap accessible.