Musician, theatre worker, and photographer Diana Davies became a photojournalist in the 1960s. One of the principal documentarians of the second-wave women's movement the U.S., she also photographed in Africa, Central America, the Middle East, and Europe. She documented the civil rights and peace movements, poor people's and welfare rights movements, and farmworkers' struggles. Throughout her career, Davies has photographed various creators and performers of cultural expression, including musicians, writers, craftspersons, dancers, circus and theatre people, potters, and artists. Her photographs of individuals run the gamut, from obscure street people to well-known public figures. Davies' work has been published in books, journals, newspapers, and magazines, and is included in collections at the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Institution, Howard University, and the Swarthmore Peace Collection. Her book Photojourney : photographs was published in 1989.

In the 1990s, Davies abandoned her career in photography (except for photographs of friends) in order to work as a graphic artist, painter and illustrator, with an emphasis on the subject of social change. Davies writes plays with social justice themes, having throughout her life participated in and supported all aspects of "people's theatre." As a committed peace and social justice activist she also works with organizations promoting social change, and helps feed and clothe the needy in her community.

The Diana Davies Papers consist primarily of her photographs of individuals and groups, musicians, artists, political activists in the civil rights, peace and feminist movements; celebrities and politicians; women's events (marches, demonstrations, conferences, etc.); and images of a variety of people and events from Broadway actors to New York City street people. As a photojournalist at the height of the Women's Liberation movement, Davies documented many of the important players and events in the movement in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s. The photographs are also a rich source of images of women musicians and "Women's Music." Also included is material related to her publication Photojourney: photographs (1989); exhibit materials; fliers, broadsides, and other printed matter; memorabilia; an audio recording of "Twelve O'Clock Girl in a Nine O'Clock Town," by Davies; and an oral history.

Oversized prints are filed in a separate box at the end of the series. Acid-free photocopies of the oversize photographs are filed in the applicable folder in boxes 1 and 2. In cases where contact sheets contain photographs of more than one subject, acid-free photocopies of the contact sheet are filed in all applicable folders.

Negatives include negatives of the prints above, as well as some negatives for which the SSC does not own prints. Negatives are filed in numerical order. In cases where the Sophia Smith Collection owns the negative for a photograph, the corresponding negative number is written on the reverse side of the print.

NOTE: There is no container list online for this finding aid. You may contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you want one sent to you.

Please credit images as follows: "Copyright Diana Davies," and cite the collection as: "Diana Davies Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass."

Diana Davies began donating her papers to the Sophia Smith Collection in 1997.

Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.

This collection was arranged and listed by Diana Davies in 2000.