The University of Arizona Press
Date:Wednesday, February 10, 2027
Time: 5:30 p.m., MST
Where: Tumamoc Hill Boathouse, 1675 W Anklam Rd, Tucson
author of Mac Schweitzer: A Southwest Maverick and Her Art, will speak about the book on February 10 as part of the Tumamoc Author Series. Drawing from her recent book, an illustrated conversation exploring the life and art of Mac Schweitzer, Hedlund brings to life a period when bold ideas about architecture, design, and desert living were reshaping the city. The evening will feature projected slides of Mac Schweitzer’s work. Through these images, Hedlund traces Schweitzer’s creative vision and her role within a broader network of artists, architects, and cultural innovators. Hedlund will be joined by Shelby Tisdale, art historian and author of No Place for a Lady. Whether you’re interested in art, local history, or the untold stories behind familiar landscapes, this program offers a vivid look at how Tucson became modern—and who helped make it so.
This talk will be held at the boathouse, at the base of Tumamoc Hill. The event is presented by Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, The University of Arizona Press, and The Southwest Center, and is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase, and the author will be available for signing following the talk.
About the book:
In Tucson during the 1950s, nearly everyone knew, or wanted to know, the southwestern artist Mac Schweitzer. Born Mary Alice Cox in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1921, she grew up a tomboy who adored horses, cowboys, and art. After training at Cleveland School of Art and marrying, she adopted her maiden initials (M. A. C.) as her artistic name and settled in Tucson in 1946. With a circle of influential friends that included anthropologists, designer-craftsmen, and Native American artists, she joined Tucson’s “Early Moderns,” receiving exhibits, commissions, and awards for her artwork. When she died in 1962, Mac’s artistic legacy faded from public view, but her prize-winning works attest to a thriving career.
Author Ann Lane Hedlund draws from the artist’s letters, photo albums, and published reviews to tell the story of Mac’s creative and adventuresome life. Her watercolors, oil paintings, prints, and sculptures—a diverse body of work never before seen in public—range from naturalistic studies of Sonoran Desert animals to impressionistic landscapes to moody abstractions.
