Mary Kalergis

Mary Motley Kalergis (born July 4, 1951), is an author,^[1] photographer and interviewer.^[2][3]

Kalergis' photography has been exhibited in museums and galleries including the Smithsonian Institution,^[4] the Chrysler Museum of Art,^[5] the Fralin Museum,^[6] the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,^[7][8] the New York State Museum,^[9] and others.^[10][11]

Kalergis taught at the University of Virginia and the International Center of Photography in New York.^[12][13]

Kalergis' most recent published work is a book on fox hunting entitled Foxhunters Speak.^[14] In 2000, Kalergis' book Seen and Heard: Teenagers Talk About Their Lives was awarded an American Library Association Award for Best Books for Young Adults.^[15]

Kalergis lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband, pharmaceutical entrepreneur David Kalergis.^[2]

Her published books include ^[16]

• Foxhunters Speak (Derrydale Press),^[14]
• Considering Adoption (Atelerix Press),
• Love In Black & White (Kensington Publishing),
• Charlottesville Portrait (Howell Press),
• Seen and Heard: Teenagers Talk About Their Lives (Stewart Tabori, & Chang),^[15]
• With This Ring: A Portrait of Marriage (The Chrysler Museum of Art),^[17]
• Home of the Brave (E.P. Dutton),
• Mother: A Collective Portrait (E.P. Dutton)
• Giving Birth (Harper & Row)

In a 1998 review of Seen and Heard: Teenagers Talk About Their Lives published in USA Today, journalist Patricia Hersch described Kalergis' black-and-white portraits and the voices of the teens featured in the book. The review described the work as "a photographic exploration and celebration of mainstream American adolescence" and noted Kalergis’ ability to portray her subjects without posturing or stereotype. Hersch also noted the book's emotional resonance, observing that it “stirs the heart” and challenges the notion of adolescence as merely rebellious or alienated.^[18]

In a 1996 feature published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, staff writer Isabella Gioiello described Kalergis’ work in With This Ring: A Portrait of Marriage as “poignant portraits focused on the hard work of marriage,” highlighting the depth and reflections of couples featured in the series. The article noted the diversity of the subjects and the apparent resilience shown in their personal narratives, noting that Kalergis' photographs captured not just formal poses but the intimate realities of lifelong partnership.^[19]