Lillian Schwartz (1927-2024) was a unique cultural figure as one of the American pioneers in digital art. Her work is immediately identifiable through her artistic flare. Her pieces tend to be visually jarring in a delightful way, compelling the vi

Lillian was a visionary multimedia artist — an early adopter, innovator, and life-long learner in creative computing and digital art. At Bell Laboratories, she held the role of "resident visitor" from 1968-2002, where she created her celebrated films.

As we enter the final month of the Lillian Schwartz: Whirlwind of Creativity exhibit at The Henry Ford — which also happens to be Women’s History Month — it seems a good time to acknowledge Lillian’s life and work as an artist who made groundbreaking c

In 1949, Lillian Schwartz — an artist who became well known for her experimental spirit — packed her bags and boarded the U.S. Army Transport Ship General Daniel I. Sultan. Lillian's husband, Jack Schwartz, was a doctor and military service member.

In 1972, Lillian Schwartz sat down with a bundle of pipe cleaners. She tested their flexibility, twisting them into loose loops and serpentine figures. Lillian was an artist, and often used unconventional materials in her work--but these pipe cleaner

“An oil painting by Matisse of a humanoid robot playing chess.” “An astronaut riding a horse in photorealistic style.” “An armchair in the shape of an avocado.” These are only a few input suggestions for the image generation platform known as Dall-E

In June 1878, Eadweard Muybridge was hard at work. At the Palo Alto Stock Farm in Stanford, California, the photographer positioned twelve cameras along the side of a racetrack

Lillian Schwartz was a pioneer who found innovative uses for new digital tools, producing revolutionary and genre-defying works of computer-based art.

The Henry Ford’s Lillian Schwartz collection is the first to be exhibited in the new space, which is set to host temporary exhibitions of significant collections going forward.

The papers of technologist and artist Lillian Schwartz are perhaps the most complex set of materials ever brought into the holdings of the archives and library at The Henry Ford. Go behind the scenes to see how we're caring for them.