Fenton, Susan. Susan Fenton: Hand Painted Photographs.

Introduction by Gerald Silk. Self-published, printed by Valley Press, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 2002. Includes color photographs printed one-to-a-page, biographical information, and checklist. [Not commercially distributed, printed with grant support from Independence Foundation.] Wraps, 44 pages. Like new.  Not issued with ISBN number. Summary:

Susan Fenton: Hand Painted Photographs (2002), published by the Independence Foundation and printed by Valley Press, is a 44-page exhibition catalogue and retrospective monograph documenting the distinctive fine-art photography of Philadelphia artist Susan Fenton.

Key Details & Summary

• Scope & Artistic Technique: Showcases Fenton's hallmark photographic method—brown-toned fiber-based gelatin silver prints meticulously hand-painted with thin, layered applications of photographic oil pigments.

• Visual Themes & Imagery: Gathers 18 color-reproduced portrait studies and staged figurative vignettes featuring smooth-skinned, sublimely androgynous forms disguised or framed by masks, veils, and studio props.

• Cultural & Symbolic Context: Explores themes of ritual, gender, fashion fetishism, and internal beauty—drawing heavily on visual metaphors developed during Fenton’s time living and teaching in Tokyo, Japan.

• Critical Commentary: Features an introductory essay by art historian Gerald Silk that contextualizes Fenton's place within contemporary fine-art photography and the tradition of hand-colored imagery.

Biographical Summary: Susan Fenton

Susan Fenton (1949–2018) was an American fine-art photographer, painter, and educator renowned for her elegant, hand-painted figurative photographs and still life studies. Raised in Pennsylvania, Fenton earned her B.A. and M.A.Ed. from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University before receiving her M.F.A. in painting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where artist Leon Golub served as her thesis mentor. Over a career spanning four decades, Fenton synthesized painting and photography by creating tightly cropped studio compositions—using toys, props, and anonymous models—which she printed as brown-toned gelatin silver prints and painted with delicate layers of oil pigments. Her work was profoundly shaped by extended periods living and teaching abroad, including in Tokyo and Rome, leading her to investigate themes of identity, ritual, gender, and ideal concepts of beauty. A dedicated educator, Fenton held positions at prominent institutions, serving as Associate Professor of Fine Arts at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Recipient of grants from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the Print Center, her work has been widely exhibited and is held in public collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.