Saving stray cats, with help of Town Hall Gallery show

SHARON — Inheriting the work of a world-renowned photographer (and close friend) can be a blessing. But it also leaves its owner wondering what to do with sheet after sheet of negatives, box after box of prints.Sharon resident Linda Swenson was left the entire body of work of her good friend, photographer Suzanne Szasz, and Szasz’s husband, Ray Shorr, also a photographer. Although she was glad to have it, she was unsure what to do with all her bounty. Recently she realized that the answer was right here in town. She feels she has now found the perfect venue for sharing the massive collection of photographs with her community: the Sharon Town Hall Gallery.Town Hall has in recent years featured works by local artists on its walls. The displays have proved so popular that the walls are now a curated gallery. Szasz and Shorr will each get their own show this summer. Szasz’ work will be on display for the month of May; Shorr’s photos will take their place in June. The Szasz exhibit will be entitled “The Pleasures of Rescued Cats,” and will feature photos of rescued cats —notably, the stray that she and her husband adopted. That fortunate feline, named Cica, became the subject of Szasz’ bestselling book with author Paul Gallico, “The Silent Miaow,” a guidebook that teaches homeless cats how to entice potential owners into taking them in. Because all of the cats featured in the show were “rescued,” the show will also feature information from the Little Guild of St. Francis animal shelter in Cornwall and information on how to adopt an animal.Szasz was born in 1915 in Hungary, and moved to the United States in 1947.Her photographic career took off when she won a Ladies Home Journal magazine cover contest.Szasz may be best known for photographing children and families. Perhaps because she was unable to have children of her own, “she fell in love with American families,” Swenson said.The two women became friends years ago when Szasz took photos of Swenson, who is an actress.“There was a point where she wasn’t a friend anymore — she was really family,” Swenson said of Szasz.Szasz eventually moved to Noble Horizons in Salisbury, and Swenson visited her often. She died in 1997, just a few years after Shorr, who died in 1994. She bequeathed her entire catalogue of photos to Swenson. She also left her Shorr’s photos of New York City.Swenson and her husband, Walter, are now sorting through the 300,000 to 500,000 images, which are on slides and film and in prints.The photos are on display in the gallery on the first floor of Town Hall and can be seen at any time when Town Hall is open.

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