The Austine Wood Comarow Papers (1971-2005) consist of newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, brochures, artwork reproductions, exhibit promotions, and audiovisual material relating to the career of artist Austine Wood Comarow. The materials detail Comarow’s career through correspondence with galleries and collaborators, price lists, resumes, and interviews, and document the development of Comarow’s signature art form, Polage, which uses polarized light and cellulose to create colorful images. The audiovisual material includes interviews, news stories, lectures, and gallery displays of Comarow’s work.
The Austine Wood Comarow Papers (1971-2005) consist of newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, brochures, artwork reproductions, exhibit promotions, and audiovisual material relating to the career of artist Austine Wood Comarow. The materials detail Comarow’s career through correspondence with galleries and collaborators, price lists, resumes, and interviews, and document the development of Comarow’s signature art form, Polage, which uses polarized light and cellulose to create colorful images. The audiovisual material includes interviews, news stories, lectures, and gallery displays of Comarow’s work.
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Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 10, 1942, artist Austine Wood Comarow began developing a new light-based art medium called Polage in 1967. Comarow discovered that putting clear cellulose between polarized light filters created images that shifted colors as the viewer moved positions. Known professionally as Austine, Comarow and her husband David opened a studio and gallery in Boulder City, Nevada in 1985.
A large-scale, 75-foot-long Polage mural is displayed at the Spring Mountains Visitor Center at Mt. Charleston, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Austine’s art also appears in the permanent collections of museums such as the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science; Museum of Science, Boston; and Swarthmore College; as well as private collections around the world.
Austine Wood Comarow passed away suddenly at age 77 on July 31, 2020. Her daughters, Cara Wood Ginder and Erika Wood, continued her legacy at Austine Studios until 2025, and later created Lightread Studios to continue the Polage art form.
Sources:
Austine Studios. “About Austine.” Accessed June 29, 2026. https://www.austine.com/aboutaustine
The Library District. “Three Generations of Polarized Light Art.” September 20, 2025. https://thelibrarydistrict.org/blogs/post/cara-wood-ginder-three-generations-of-polage-art/
Austine Wood Comarow Papers, 1971-2005. MS-01239. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Materials were donated in 2026 by David Comarow; accession number 2026-055.
In 2026, Landon Paljusaj rehoused the materials and wrote the description in ArchivesSpace. Original folders with the creator's labels were retained where possible, and loose materials were foldered with devised titles.
Administrative Information
Acquired by Aaron Mayes, Visual Materials Curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings on art and artists in Nevada. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.