Milton Wolf Brown papers, 1908-1998

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A Finding Aid to the Milton Wolf Brown Papers, 1908-1998, in the Archives of American Art, by Erin Corley

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Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Milton Wolf Brown (1911-1998) was an art historian and educator in New York City.

Known to his friends as "Mainey," Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1911. At a young age he intended to be a painter and studied with Louis Lozowick. However, instead of attending art school, he entered New York University to study education and eventually received his master's and doctorate in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts. While there he took courses with Walter Friedlander, Erwin Panofsky, and Mayer Schapiro. He also received fellowships to the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1934 and Brussels in 1937, and studied from 1938-1939 at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. In 1938 he married fellow student Blanche Levine. After serving in World War II, he began teaching in the art department at Brooklyn College in 1946. There he developed a specialization in American art history and his doctoral dissertation, American Painting from the Armory Show to the Depression, was published in 1955. In 1963 he participated in the fiftieth anniversary exhibition of the 1913 Armory Show. The publication of his book Story of the Armory Show coincided with this event.

In 1971 Brown established the graduate program in Art History at the City University of New York, which became preeminent in the areas of modern art and American art history. During the 1980s he remained a resident professor at CUNY, though he retired in 1979, and he held visiting professorships at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art. From 1983 to 1987 he had a senior fellowship at Williams College for the Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project.

Over the course of his career Brown curated exhibitions, including an exhibition on the works of Jacob Lawrence and The Modern Spirit: American Painting and Photography, 1908-1935, and wrote for numerous publications. He also served as an active member of several professional societies. Brown was close friends with art scholars and artists, such as Jack Levine, Moses and Raphael Soyer, Ad Reinhardt, and Paul Strand. In 1991 he returned to painting landscape watercolors, and had the opportunity to exhibit his work before his death in 1998.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The papers of art historian and educator Milton Wolf Brown date from 1908 to 1998 and measure 25.8 linear feet. The collection documents Brown's career through scattered biographical material, correspondence with friends, publishers, colleagues, artists, museums, and art organizations, travel journals, files for the Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project, exhibition, research, teaching, and organization files, printed material, and scattered photographs. A large portion of this collection consists of writings by Brown including notebooks, draft writings for books and other publications, lectures, and his writings as a student.

Biographical material includes academic records, travel documents, financial documents, Brown's military records, and a transcript of a 1997 interview. Correspondence is with students, museums, universities, publishers, art organizations, and others. The bulk of these letters document Brown's professional activities, but also found are scattered letters from friends, artists, and colleagues such as Russell Lynes, Stanley Meltzoff, Louis Lozowick, Erwin Panofsky, and Paul Sachs.

This collection also contains 33 detailed travel journals written primarily by Milton Brown's wife, Blanche, documenting their travels in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world. Within the writings series are notebooks from the period that Brown was a student and while traveling in Europe in 1959 and 1960; book project files, which include draft writings as well as related correspondence, research material, notes, photographs and other material. Files are found for American Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Decorative Arts, Photography (1979), American Painting, From the Armory Show to the Depression (1955), The Story of the Armory Show (1963, 1988 2nd ed.), and other books. Among the writings are files for lectures written by Brown; essays, articles, and scripts written for various publications; general research notes and student writings; and writings by others sent to Brown for review and feedback.

Brown maintained a set of files documenting his work on the Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project, which consist of correspondence, drafts, reports, and research materials, including notes on twenty meetings with Mrs. Prendergast. Exhibition files document Brown's work as curator on several major exhibitions, including a Jacob Lawrence exhibition at the Whitney Museum, and his contributions to others. Also found here are three interviews of Milton Brown and Marcel Duchamp concerning the 50th Anniversary of the Armory Show and anniversary exhibition. Research files include notes, research material, and printed material on various art-related subjects that were maintained by Milton and Blanche Brown for regular use for lectures, teaching, and writing projects. Brown's teaching files contain scattered lecture notes, syllabi, correspondence, faculty records, and other materials from his time at CUNY, Brooklyn College, and other visiting professorships. Organization Files contain correspondence, reports, planning documents, and event materials. These records document his membership or advisory role in various organizations such as the Archives of American Art and Century Association.

This collection also contains printed material, such as exhibition announcements, newsletters, brochures, journals, event programs, and magazine and newspapers clippings compiled by Brown. Scattered photographs include nine photographs of Milton Brown, a few photographs of friends, and photographs of artwork.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

• Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1932-1998 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
• Series 2: Correspondence, 1908, 1934-1998 (Boxes 1-3; 1.8 linear feet)
• Series 3: Travel Journals, 1941-1996 (Boxes 3-4; 1.6 linear feet)
• Series 4: Writings, circa 1929-1990s (Boxes 4-13, 25; 8.7 linear feet)
• Series 5: Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project, circa 1952-1990 (Boxes 13-14, 25; 1.8 linear feet)
• Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1962-circa 1997 (Boxes 14-16, 28; 2.0 linear feet)
• Series 7: Research Files, circa 1930s-1986 (Boxes 16-19; 3.0 linear feet)
• Series 8: Teaching Files, circa 1946-1993 (Boxes 19-21; 2.0 linear feet)
• Series 9: Organization Files, 1959-1995 (Boxes 21-22; 1.3 linear feet)
• Series 10: Printed Material, 1925-1990s (Boxes 22-24, 26, 27; 3.2 linear feet)
• Series 11: Photographs, circa 1956-1990s (Boxes 25, 27; 0.2 linear feet)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The Milton Wolf Brown papers were donated in 2000 and 2001 by Blanche R. Brown, Brown's widow. Three reel-to reel sound recordings were lent for duplication to cassette and transcript in 1986 by Milton Brown. A cassette copy of the Martha Deane interview was donated in 2006 by Milton Brown's estate, via Naomi Rosenblum. Additional material was donated in 2002 and 2004 by Naomi Rosenblum, executor for the estate of Blanche R. Brown, who died in 2002.

Separated and Related Materials

Also at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Milton Wolf Brown, conducted in 1976 by Paul Cummings.

How the Collection was Processed

The Milton Wolf Brown papers were fully processed by Erin Corley in 2010 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Milton Wolf Brown papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

How to Cite this Collection

Milton Wolf Brown papers, 1908-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1932-1998 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical material in this series includes academic and employment records for Milton Brown and his wife Blanche, biographical statements, files for grants, fellowships, and other study opportunities, and travel documents. Also found are scattered financial records, including documentation of the Brown's Art Nouveau collection and royalty statements for his books. Additionally, this series contains files kept by Brown documenting his military service, and a transcript of an interview of Brown conducted by Sally A. Duncan.

Folders are arranged alphabetically. Items within each folder are arranged chronologically.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1908, 1934-1998 (Box 1-3; 1.8 linear feet)

This series contains Milton Brown's correspondence with family, his wife Blanche, friends, colleagues, students, museums, universities, publishers, and art organizations. Found here are two folders of letters Brown wrote to his family while studying in Europe, including his impressions of Germany and Russia. Also found are files of his correspondence with publishers, including Harry N. Abrams and Princeton University Press, and one file of correspondence with his friend, artist Jozef Pielage.

The bulk of this series consists of Brown professional correspondence documenting his career as an art historian, writer and educator. Letters discuss his work on exhibitions, teaching, book projects, and lectures, and should be consulted in conjunction with Series 4: Writings, Series 6: Exhibition Files, and Series 8: Teaching files, which also contain related correspondence. Notable correspondents include artists and art historians such as Russell Lynes (1958, 1964, 1966, 1976, 1981, 1988, 1989), John Rewald (1988), Stanley Meltzoff (1968, 1971, 1981, 1982), Raphael Soyer (1972), Louis Lozowick (1943, 1963, 1967, 1969, undated), Joseph Hirshhorn (1963, 1966), Stephen Bourgeois (1963), Philip Evergood (1963), Maurice Becker (1962), Erwin Panofsky (1937, 1957, 1958), Paul Sachs (1939-1941, 1943, 1944, 1955), Everett Shinn (1944), and Meyer Schapiro (1935).

Folders of select correspondence with family, Pielage, and publishers is filed according to Brown's original arrangement followed by general correspondence which is arranged chronologically.

Series 3: Travel Journals, 1941-1996 (Box 3-4; 1.6 linear feet)

This series contains travel journals documenting Milton and Blanche Brown's trips throughout the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world. Most of these very detailed accounts were written by Blanche Brown.

Journals are arranged chronologically. Folder headings are taken from titles written inside of each journal.

Series 4: Writings, circa 1929-1990s (Boxes 4-13, 25; 8.7 linear feet)

The series is arranged as 7 subseries:

• 4.1: Notebooks, circa 1930-1977
• 4.2: Book Projects, circa 1940-1987
• 4.3: Lectures, circa 1950-1991
• 4.4: Writings for Publication, 1943-1994
• 4.5: General Research Notes and Writings, circa 1940s-1990s
• 4.6: Student Writings and Notes, circa 1929-1939
• 4.7: Writings by Others, circa 1930s-1991

4.1: Notebooks, circa 1930-1977

This subseries contains Milton Brown's notebooks, primarily from the period that he was in graduate school during the 1930s. Included are nine notebooks for specific art history courses he took while at NYU. Other notebooks found here include notes on art. Notebooks from 1959 and 1960 contain notes taken while Brown and his wife were traveling in Europe. Also found are three engagement calendars.

4.2: Book Projects, circa 1940-1987

This subseries contains records of Milton Brown's book projects. Files for each project may consist of correspondence, draft versions, notes, research material, lists, photographs, and publicity and reviews. Correspondence found here discusses details for Brown's books and his research inquiries, and researchers should note that additional correspondence regarding these books may be found in Series 2: Correspondence. Among the correspondence regarding American Painting, From the Armory Show to the Depression are letters from Georgio O'Keefe, Max Weber, Louis Lozowick, Charles Burchfield, Charles Sheeler, Andrew Dasburg, and William Gropper. Brown's book American Art to 1900 (1977) became part of the larger publication American Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Decorative Arts, and Photography so records for both books are filed together. Titles of works are arranged alphabetically and individual files are also arranged alphabetically.

4.3: Lectures, circa 1950-1991

This subseries contains lecture files maintained by Milton Brown, which may include draft versions of his lectures, slide lists, related correspondence, and event announcements and programs. Also found are memorial addresses for colleagues written by Brown. Researchers should note that Brown often gave different versions of the same lectures at various museums, symposiums, universities, and art organizations. Common topics of his lectures included the Armory Show, the "Emergence of the Machine Image in American Art," and "The Eight and the Ashcan School," and "Social Activism." Files are arranged alphabetically by lecture location.

4.4: Writings for Publication, 1943-1994

Found here are Milton Brown's writings for publication, including exhibition catalog essays, essays for art publications, entries for encyclopedias, and journal and magazine articles. Folders may include draft writings, copies of the published version, notes, and related correspondence. Of note are Brown's draft scripts and related material for his work on the BBC program "100 Great Paintings."

4.5: General Research Notes and Writings, circa 1940s-1990s

Found here are various address lists, loose notes, primarily on the subject of art history, and a series of notecards. The notecards have been kept in Milton Brown's original file arrangement. The purpose of these notecards is not indicated, but they may have been used for one or more of his book projects. Also found here are five computer floppy disks which are unlabeled.

4.6: Student Writings and Notes, circa 1929-1939

This subseries contains Milton Brown's notes and writing assignments from high school, New York University, and Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum course. Also found is one file of class notes belonging to his wife, Blanche Brown.

4.7: Writings by Others, circa 1930s-1991

Writings by others include draft essays, book chapters, and articles sent to Milton Brown from his colleagues. Many of these writings have a cover letter written to Brown from the author requesting his review and feedback. Also found here are course outlines and handouts written by notable art history professors such as Erwin Panofsky, Walter Friedlander, and Walter Cook.

Series 5: Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project, circa 1952-1990 (Boxes 13-14, 25; 1.8 linear feet)

This series contains Milton Brown's Prendergast Catalogue Raisonne Project files. Brown was appointed senior fellow for the project at Williams College from 1983 to 1987. Found here are project documents such as correspondence, draft essays by Brown and others, notes, outlines, bibliographies, budgets, and reports. Also found are research files on Prendergast compiled for the project including notes from twenty separate meetings with Mrs. Prendergast, as well as genealogical documents, auction lists, photocopies of exhibition catalogs and other printed material.

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1962-circa 1997 (Boxes 14-16, 28; 2.0 linear feet)

This series contains files maintained by Milton Brown documenting his work as curator or contributor to various exhibitions. Included are sets of files for three major exhibitions for which Brown was a curator: the Jacob Lawrence Exhibition at the Whitney Museum, "The Modern Spirit: American Painting and Photography, 1908-1935," for the Arts Council of Great Britain, and "Paintings from the United States from the Museums of Washington" for the Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico. Files for these exhibitions include correspondence, draft writings for the catalog, reports and planning documents, lists of works, research material, and publicity and reviews. Also found are records of the exhibition of Milton Brown's landscape watercolors and records of artwork loaned for exhibition from the Brown's private art collection.

Additional files in this series document Brown's work on other exhibitions including the 50th Anniversary of the Armory Show. Found here are three interviews regarding the 1963 exhibition including an interview of Milton Brown and Marcel Duchamp conducted by Martha Deane in 1963 for the Martha Deane Show, which aired on WOR, New York, N.Y.; an interview of Brown conducted by Duncan MacDonald for his show, "Observation Point" on Station WNYC, New York, N.Y., April 10, 1963; and an interview of Duchamp conducted in 1963 by Milton Brown for Channel 13, New York, N.Y.

Series 7: Research Files, circa 1930s-1986 (Boxes 16-19; 3.0 linear feet)

This series contains files maintained by Milton and Blanche Brown documenting their research on various topics in art history and architecture. These files do not appear to be associated with specific projects and may have been maintained for regular use for lectures, teaching, and writing projects. Files may include notes written by both Milton and Blanche, printed material from museums, articles and book excerpts (including a large amount of photocopied material), as well as bibliographies and lists. Also found here is a set of files on architecture, primarily containing photocopies of material from various publications. These files appear to have been created around 1979 for an unspecified project. Researchers should note that all of the the folder subject headings in this series are those given by Blanche or Milton Brown and there may be multiple folders where the subjects overlap or have similar headings. For example, there is a file called "Painting, American, Taste" and another called "Patronage and Taste," and the contents of these files may overlap and should both be consulted.

Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject. A group of files on architecture are arranged alphabetically under the heading "Architecture Subject Files."

Series 8: Teaching Files, circa 1946-1993 (Boxes 19-21; 2.0 linear feet)

This series contains Milton Brown's teaching files for his work at several academic institutions. Included are course materials such as lecture notes, syllabi, and class lists as well as other related records such as scattered correspondence, examinations, and faculty memos and reports from his tenure at the City University of New York and Brooklyn College. Additional files document his teaching positions at Hebrew University and the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. This series also includes files of recommendation requests from students and writings by students.

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Series 9: Organization Files, 1959-1995 (Boxes 21-22; 1.3 linear feet)

This series includes files maintained by Milton Brown for organizations in which he participated. For most of these organizations he either served as a member or project advisor. Of note are his participation as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Archives of American Art and his service on various committees for the Century Association and the College Art Association. Files may include correspondence, reports, planning documents, agendas, meeting minutes, and conference and event materials.

Series 10: Printed Material, 1925-1990s (Boxes 22-24, 26, 27; 3.2 linear feet)

Printed material consists primarily of exhibition announcements and invitations sent to Milton Brown, journals and newsletters from various art organizations, and magazine articles collected by Brown during his career as an art historian. Also found are brochures, conference programs, catalogs, press releases, and news clippings mostly related to Brown's professional activities.

Files are arranged alphabetically by type of printed material.

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1956-1990s (Boxes 25, 27; 0.2 linear feet)

This series contains scattered photographs, including 9 photographs of Milton Brown, photographs of artist Jan Cox, and publicity photographs of the actress Maureen Stapleton. Also found are photographs of works of art, including several of works by Jacob Lawrence. Researchers should note that additional photographs may be found within Series 4.2: Book Projects and Series 6: Exhibition Files.