A Finding Aid to the Henry Kirke Brown Papers, 1836-1893, in the Archives of American Art

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.browhenr
Creators:
Brown, Henry Kirke, 1814-1886
Dates:
1836-1893
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The papers of sculptor and portrait painter Henry Kirke Brown measure 1 linear feet and date from 1836 to 1893. The collection includes Brown's correspondence with his wife, Lydia Louise Udall, his nephew, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and other family members. Also included are letters from artists George Catlin, George Fuller, Sanford R. Gifford, James Reid Lambdin, Louis Lang, Erastus Dow Palmer, Hiram Powers, Horatio Stone, and others; five news clippings; and miscellaneous notes.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The papers of sculptor and portrait painter Henry Kirke Brown measure 1 linear feet and date from 1836 to 1893. The collection includes Brown's correspondence with his wife, Lydia Louise Udall, his nephew, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and other family members. Also included are letters from artists George Catlin, George Fuller, Sanford R. Gifford, James Reid Lambdin, Louis Lang, Erastus Dow Palmer, Hiram Powers, Horatio Stone, and others; five news clippings; and miscellaneous notes.
Brown's lengthy letters to his wife reveal his devotion to her and the conflict he felt between his art and his personal life. He discusses his work, including progress on his statue of George Washington, located in Union Square, New York City. Letters to his family from Rome and Florence allude to his awe of Italy's monuments. Also included are letters from Washington, D.C. during Brown's tenure as a member of the U.S. Art Commission in the 1860s.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Henry Kirke Brown (1814-1886) was an American sculptor and portrait painter born in Leyden, Massachusetts and died in Newburgh, New York.
Administration
Author
Caroline Donadio
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 2770 and 2771 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Henry Kirke Brown papers were donated to the Archives of American in 1981 by Dorothy Young, who acquired the papers from her husband, an art dealer.
Processing Information
The collection was processed to a minimal level after donation. A finding aid was created by Caroline Donadio in 2018.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Henry Kirke Brown papers, 1836-1893. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
More Information
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Portrait painters -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculpture, Modern--19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Italy -- description and travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bush-Brown, Henry Kirke, 1857-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Catlin, George, 1796-1872 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fuller, George, 1822-1884 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gifford, Sanford Robinson, 1823-1880 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lambdin, James Reid, 1807-1889 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lang, Louis, 1814-1893 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Palmer, Erastus Dow, 1817-1904 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Powers, Hiram, 1805-1873 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stone, Horatio, 1808-1875 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Udall, Lydia Louise Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States.. Art Commission Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions
https://www.aaa.si.edu/