Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Byron Browne papers, 1920-1979, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.browbyro
Creators:
Browne, Byron, 1907-1961
Dates:
1920-1979
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.1 Linear feet
Repository:
The Byron Browne papers measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1920-1979 and document the life and work of Byron Browne through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Byron Browne papers measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1920-1979. Biographical materials include documents regarding tributes to Browne after his death and his career, a self-portrait, and film with recorded audio. Correspondence is with friends, artists, and family members and consists mainly of holiday and sympathy cards addressed to Rosalind, the majority dating after Browne's death. Correspondence regarding art donations by Rosalind and other professional activities as well as documents regarding Browne's time spent teaching for the Art Students League of New York and New York University are included. Other financial documents relating to his art expenses and newspaper and magazine clippings are present. Various exhibition announcements are present, as are photographs of both Browne and his artwork.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 6 series:
  • Series 1: Biographical Materials, Biographical Materials, 1960-1973 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1, OV 4, FC03, FC04)
  • Series 2: Correspondence,1952-1979 (0.7 Linear feet: Box 1)
  • Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1930-1977 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 1)
  • Series 4: Printed Materials, 1920-1979 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 2, OV 6)
  • Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1920-1979 (0.2 Linear feet: Boxes 2-3)
  • Series 6: Artwork, 1930-1969 (0.2 Linear feet: Box 3, OV 5)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Byron Browne (1907-1961) was born in Yonkers, New York on June 26, 1907, as George Byron Browne and was a painter, sculptor, and educator in New York City. He helped found the American Abstract Artists, an organization centered in New York that was devoted to exhibiting abstract art, with his wife Rosalind Bengelsdorf and Balcomb Greene in 1935. Browne specialized in still life in the Synthetic Cubism style and was influenced by his friends John Graham, Arshile Gorky, and Willem de Kooning. By the 1950s Browne migrated to creating more romantic imagery. Browne started his early career as an academic artist and won numerous awards at the National Academy including the Third Hallgarten Prize for still-life composition. His career consisted of creating murals under the Works Progress Administration for the Chronic Disease Hospital and the 1939 New York World's Fair. He also taught painting at the Art Students League of New York from 1948 to 1959 and went on to then teach at New York University. A survivor of the Great Depression, Browne would continue to struggle to sell art beyond the 1930s, when his most notable work was created. Browne's work is represented at over eighty permanent art museum collections. Browne died on December 25, 1961, in New York City at age 54.

Administration

Author
Allessandra Liberati
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Existence and Location of Copies
Material lent for microfilming is available on 35mm microfilm reels 97 and NBB 1-NBB 2 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Papers were lent for microfilming in 1963 and 1978 by Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne.
Processing Information
This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared, by Allessandra Liberati in 2023.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 97 and NBB 1-NBB 2) including correspondence, clippings, receipts, contracts, sketches and descriptions related to mural commissions. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Byron Browne papers, circa 1920-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Rosalind Bengelsdorf conducted by Irving Sandler in 1968 and the Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne papers.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Abstract Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cubism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bengelsdorf, Rosalind, 1916-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Works Progress Administration Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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