Faye Swengel Badura

Faye Swengel Badura (1904 - 1985) was born in Johnstown, PA, beginning her art studies in 1923 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying under Daniel Garber. While there, she met her future husband Bernard "Ben" Badura, whom she married in 1928. After a few moves, the Baduras settled in Center Bridge in 1930, before buying an art studio that also served as their home in New Hope in 1937.

At PAFA, Swengel was put in charge of selecting students to receive scholarships for the Barnes Foundation. In 1926, she won the Cresson Traveling Scholarship and spent four months studying in England, France, and Italy. She also studied at the Barnes Foundation and under avant-garde modernist painter Arthur Carles.

Swengel was the recipient of many prestigious awards during her career, including the Mary Smith Prize and a Gold Medal from the Pennsylvania Academy. Her work was exhibited in major venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Woodmere Art Museum and the Phillips' Mill Community Association. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the James A. Michener Art Museum.