{"id":4178,"date":"2026-08-05T20:40:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll104\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T20:40:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:40:53","slug":"coll104","status":"publish","type":"finding_aid","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/coll104\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaromir Stephany papers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/h2>
Title:<\/strong><\/td>Jaromir Stephany papers<\/td><\/tr>
Call Number:<\/strong><\/td>Coll104<\/td><\/tr>
Creator:<\/strong><\/td>Stephany Jaromir 1930-2010<\/td><\/tr>
Dates:<\/strong><\/td>1904-2009<\/td><\/tr>
Size:<\/strong><\/td>26 boxes (13.25 linear feet)<\/td><\/tr>
Abstract:<\/strong><\/td>The Jaromir Stephany papers contain records relating to\n Stephany’s work as a photographer and educator, as well as his personal papers. Included\n in this collection are professional and personal correspondence, teaching materials,\n personal photographs, genealogical records, and files from Stephany’s exhibitions. There\n are also personal writings, interviews of Stephany, and audio-recordings of lectures by\n other photographers.<\/td><\/tr>
Language:<\/strong><\/td>English<\/td><\/tr>
Citation:<\/strong><\/td>Jaromir Stephany papers, University Archives, Collection 104, Special Collections,\n University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD).<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

Administrative\/Biographical Note<\/h2>

March 23, 1930\n\t\t\t\tBorn in Rochester, New York.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1949\n\t\t\t\tWorks at the Eastman Kodak Company.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1951\n\t\t\t\tDrafted into the U.S. Army and becomes an army photographer after only twelve weeks of training. He is stationed at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1954\n\t\t\t\tBegins working at the George Eastman House as a gardener\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1956\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tReceives a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). At RIT, Stephany studies photography and photographic illustration with Ralph Hattersly and Minor White.\n\t\t\t\t\tStephany\u2019s photographs are exhibited for the first time at Rochester Memorial Library and the George Eastman House.\n\t\t\t\t\tMarries Therese Faford.\n\t\t\t\t\tStudies with Ansel Adams at Yosemite.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1957\n\t\t\t\tStephany\u2019s daughter, Mila, is born.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1959\n\t\t\t\tStephany\u2019s photogram \u201cflock of birds\u201d is selected for the George Eastman House Tenth Anniversary exhibit, titled Photography at Midcentury.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1960\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLetters, Dissonant Passacalia, and Lyrical Web are featured in Sense of Abstraction, an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.\n\t\t\t\t\tEarns Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University, where he studies clich\u00e9 verre with Henry Holmes Smith.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1961\n\t\t\t\t\t1966\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tServes as co-lecturer at RIT and is on staff at the George Eastman House as a curatorial assistant.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1965\n\t\t\t\tStephany\u2019s son, Douglas, is born.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1966\n\t\t\t\tStephany begins teaching photographic history and film at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1967\n\t\t\t\tServes on the founding committee for the Baltimore Film Festival.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1967\n\t\t\t\t\t1979\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tStephany works on Landscapes of Outer Space, a collection of science fiction themed photographs influenced by clich\u00e9 verre.\n\t\t\t\t\tStephany creates Psychosis, a collection of photographs that branch away from Landscapes of Outer Space. They include human images and characteristics.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1968\n\t\t\t\tStephany is appointed Photography Department chair at MICA.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1968\n\t\t\t\t\t1970\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tReviews films for the Maryland State Board of Censors.\n\t\t\t\t\tCreates Graveyard World, a collection of photographs imagining post-industrial Earth.\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1970\n\t\t\t\tIntroduces a sound system in MICA\u2019s darkroom and encourages musical inspiration while developing images. Stephany uses music to create the \u201ccosmic\u201d quality of Landscapes of Outer Space.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1973\n\t\t\t\tLeaves MICA and begins serving as Associate Professor of Photography at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where he establishes the Photography program. Under his guidance, UMBC\u2019s Special Collections begins developing its Photography Collections.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1974\n\t\t\t\tAn exhibit at New York Foto Gallery titled Jaromir Stephany Sequences, featuring Psychosis and Landscapes of Outer Space, Revisited, earns national recognition after a review in the journal Popular Photography.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1975\n\t\t\t\tA selection of Stephany\u2019s work titled Landscapes of Outer Space\u2014Cities of the Future is exhibited at UMBC\u2019s Library Gallery.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1977\n\t\t\t\t\t1978\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tResearches and creates The Developing Image, an eight-part television series, and publishes a corresponding book, The Developing Image.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1979\n\t\t\t\t\t1980\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Equitable Trust Company Photographic Survey of Maryland commissions Stephany to document Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay. This work inspires A Poem of Baltimore and Radiant Bay\u2014photographs featuring the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1980s\n\t\t\t\t\t1990s\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWorks on Messages to the Cosmos, another science fiction themed body of photographs.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1990\n\t\t\t\tMessages to the Cosmos, an exhibit by Stephany, hangs at the Albin O. Kuhn Library at UMBC.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t1999\n\t\t\t\tRetires from UMBC but continues to teach a history of photography course and serves on the Council of the Friends of the Library and Gallery at UMBC.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t2000s\n\t\t\t\tReturns to clich\u00e9 verre, adding color to older negatives to create Beyond Black. Stephany created Singularity, Quark, and Dark Star with this technique.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tApril 2010\n\t\t\t\tA long-planned retrospective of Stephany\u2019s photographs with an emphasis on clich\u00e9 verre is exhibited in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. The title of the show is Music of the Mind: Jaromir Stephany Photographs and Digital Images; an exhibition catalog is published in 2012.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tApril 14, 2010\n\t\t\t\tDies in Severna Park, Maryland<\/p>

Scope & Content<\/h2>

The Jaromir Stephany papers consist of 26 boxes of records, ranging in date from 1928 to 2010, with the bulk of the materials from 1951 to 2009. The papers relate to both Stephany\u2019s professional and personal life. The records are divided into seven series: correspondence, subject files, education, personal papers, photographs, and audiovisual material.\n\t\tSeries I consists of correspondence both to and from Stephany. Organized chronologically, this includes both personal and professional correspondence from 1951 to 2009.\n\t\tSeries II, Subject files, includes records collected by Stephany relating to various subjects. Records include exhibition mailers, newspaper clippings, and periodicals. Other records relate to Stephany\u2019s colleagues, various organizations, exhibits, and educational institutions.\n\t\tSeries III includes records relating to education, specifically Stephany\u2019s role as an educator. Records are divided into four sub-series: subject files (III.A); teaching materials (III.B); Developing Images (III.C); and proposals (III.D). The subject files include records that Stephany collected that generally relate to Stephany\u2019s role as a teacher. Teaching materials include slides, lecture notes, and course documents relating to courses that Stephany taught. Records from The Developing Image sub-series include TV scripts and accompanying book chapters. The Developing Image was an educational documentary about the history of photography that Stephany created along with a companion study guide by the same name. Sub-series III.D includes proposals for academic courses and departments written by Stephany.\n\t\tRecords relating to Stephany\u2019s exhibitions can be found in Series IV. These records include writings about his exhibitions, and documents that pertain to exhibition planning and organization.\n\t\tSeries V includes Stephany\u2019s personal papers. Records in this series include Stephany\u2019s personal writings, family papers, genealogical records, legal documents, and certificates. Documents in this series also relate to Stephany\u2019s work in Signal Corp.\n\t\tSeries VI includes personal photographs that are separate from Stephany\u2019s professional work. Photographs are of his family, colleagues, and students. Photographs include images of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, taken by Jaromir Stephany.\n\t\tSeries VII includes audio-visual material. This series is divided into three sub-series: CDs (VII.A); Reels (VII.B); and Video Cassettes (VII.C). These recording are of talks given by various photographers. Sub-series VII.A includes digital versions of most of the reels found in sub-series VII.B. Sub-series VII.C includes portions of Stephany\u2019s documentary The Developing Image.\n\t\tStephany\u2019s photography can be found in the Photography Collections of the Special Collections.<\/p>

The Jaromir Stephany papers have been divided into seven series:\n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries I. Correspondence\n\t\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries II. Subject files\n\t\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries III. Education\n\t\t\tSubject files\n\t\t\tTeaching materials\n\t\t\tThe Developing Image\n\t\t\tProposals\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries IV. Exhibitions\n\t\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries V. Personal papers\n\t\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries VI. Personal photographs\n\t\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t \n\t\t\tSeries VII. Audiovisual\n\t\t\tCDs\n\t\t\tReels\n\t\t\tVideocassettes<\/p>

Provenance Information<\/h2>

Records were donated by Jaromir Stephany after his retirement from UMBC.<\/p>

The Jaromir Stephany records were initially processed by Special Collections Technician Robin Martin in 2009 under the supervision of the Special Collections Archivist Lindsey Loeper. Jaromir Stephany provided some early guidance in the sorting of the papers. In Spring 2013, graduate students Dorothy Alexander and Johanna Schein finished processing the papers and wrote the finding aid.\n\t\t\tThis collection was processed to the folder level. Folders were examined for sensitive and confidential items, which were removed. All items removed are noted in the original folders with a document removal form. Audio and visual records as well as oversized or physically compromised materials were transferred to appropriate storage. Stephany\u2019s professional photographs are located in the Photography Collections of Special Collections.<\/p>

Access & Use<\/h2>

No restrictions.<\/p>

Reproductions allowed for research purposes. UMBC is the copyright owner; permission to\n reproduce is required.<\/p>

Subject Headings<\/h2>