Alexander Brook papers, 1900-1982

Biographical materials include an address book, award certificates, curriculum vitae, marriage and divorce documents, passports, biographical information on Brook's wife, Gina Knee Brook, and 4 interview transcripts. There are also a handful of documents from other Brook family members, Alexander Brook's fingerprints and driver's license, a kidney stone, and a war ration book dating from World War II.

Materials are arranged by document type. Interviews are filed in chronological order.

Correspondence is primarily with Brook's family, friends, fellow artists, and business associates discussing personal relationships, teaching opportunities, art sales, and exhibitions. Included in this series are letters addressed directly to Brook's second wife, Gina Knee Brook. Correspondents of note include Brook's children, Belinda and Sandy (Alexander) Brook, his wife from his first marriage, Peggy Bacon, the artists Niles Spencer, and George Biddle, and the writer Haniel Long.

This series also includes letters from Theodore Roosevelt, Katharine Hepburn, Abraham Walkowitz, and Eloise Spaeth; letters forwarded by the Saturday Evening Post from readers responding to Brook's cover artwork for the magazine in 1945 and 1946; correspondence from students at the Brett School, which was founded by Brook's friend Catherine Brett; and letters in Spanish from friends in Spain.

All correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, followed by letters from Spain, and unidentified, illegible, and unsigned letters.

Writings by Brook consist of reminiscence vignettes,, portions of which comprise chapters in his memoir, "Myself and Others." There are also 6 essays on art criticism, Alexander Calder, and personal philosophies on art; a lecture; a memorium to Catherine Brett, the founder of the Brett School; 6 short stories; 2 notebooks of writing fragments; and miscellaneous notes.

Writings by others consist of a notebook by Mrs. Beeton containing humorous recipes, an essay, 2 memoirs, poetry, and a short story from unknown authors.

Materials are arranged by document type.

Personal business records include sales invoices, tax returns noting income from sales of artwork, and receipts for various art supplies. Notes on sales purchasers and prices; 2 checkbook registers of outgoing expenses; and correspondence consisting of price lists and sales invoices from art galleries, including the Downtown and Rehn Galleries are included in this series.

Items are arranged chronologically by document type.

Printed material includes brochures, chapbooks, clippings, city guides for the cities of Charleston and Savannah, exhibition announcements and catalogs, art related periodicals, and miscellaneous printed material.

The cover design of the book Toward the Western Sky is by Gina Knee Brook.

Materials are arranged by document type.

There are two scrapbooks, a clippings scrapbook titled Unstruggling Artist, and an untitled scrapbook containing clippings and interspersed with correspondence, catalogs, and photographs.

Both scrapbooks were gifted to Alexander Brook. Unstruggling Artist was designed by G. Alan Chidsey and is comprised of a 1936 article appearing in Esquire magazine. The untitled scrapbook documents Brook's midcareer up to 1946 and includes additional loose material dating from circa 1946-1976. These materials include professional certificates, cards, correspondence, lists, notes, clippings, and 14 oversize photographs of Alexander Brook, Gina Knee Brook, and a work of art.

Materials are arranged by item title.

Artwork consists of ink, pencil, and pen sketches; etchings and 2 etching plates; mixed media illustrations; and watercolors by unknown artists. The sketches include children's illustration, jewelry designs, southwestern landscapes, and portraits and characters. The etching plates are figures of women, and the etchings are of groups of figures. The mixed media children's illustrations likely go with the manuscript "Fish Bowl Mystery." There are also 9 sketchbooks that include figures, portraits, landscapes, and animals, most likely by Alexander Brook, and a drawing by Miguel Covarrubius.

Artwork is arranged by artist and media type.

Photographs are of people, exhibition installations, and works of art. These include childhood photos of Alexander Brook and Gina Knee Brook, photos of the Brooks together in Savannah, Georgia and Sag Harbor, Long Island, as well as photos of Alexander Brook with friends, an artist model, at home, and in various studios. Within the photos of Alexander Brook are two series of the artist in his studio, one shot by Peter Stackpole in 1943, and one shot by Gabriel Benzur in 1946. The photographs of Alexander Brook posing with an artist model were taken by Hans Namuth in 1980.

There are also photos of the Brook's extended family, his car, travel to the southwest, and the artists Peggy Bacon, Louis Bouché, Niles Spencer, and Jackson Pollock. Exhibition installations include a show at the Carnegie Institution and unidentified one man shows. There are additional oversize photos found in the untitled scrapbook in the Scrapbook series.

Items are arranged by subject and material type.