A 1975 exhibition at the old Princeton University Art Museum, titled “To All Believers: The Art of Pamela Smith,” brought British occult artist Pamela Colman Smith out of obscurity. Smith, best known for illustrating the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck in 1909, had largely disappeared from public view after 1920 and died in 1951. The show was curated by Melinda Boyd Parsons, a student of art historian William Innes Homer, and brought to Princeton by museum director Peter Bunnell. The exhibition was covered by student journalist Laurie Kahn, who noted its significance as both occult art and work by a female artist.
This exhibition matters because it played a key role in the posthumous rediscovery and reappraisal of Pamela Colman Smith, whose tarot illustrations remain the most popular in the world. The show exemplifies how entire areas of art history can be revived through scholarly and curatorial effort. It also highlights the ongoing connection between Princeton University and its art museum, as seen in the current exhibition of ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, a former Princeton professor.