Archives of American Art

William Theo Brown papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.browwilt
Creators:
Brown, William Theo, 1919-2012
Dates:
1845-1971
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear feet
(on 4 microfilm reels)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Scrapbooks, photograph albums, sketchbooks, correspondence, manuscripts, and printed material reflect Brown's work as a painter, and his ties with contemporary musical and literary figures.
Scope and Contents
REEL 877: Four scrapbooks, 1946-1972, containing: photographs of composers Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, artist Don Bachardy and Brown; letters and notes to Brown from musicians Stravinsky, Hindemith, John Cage, and Samuel Barber; drawings and photographs of works by Brown; clippings; and manuscript material by John Cage and Francis Poulenc.
Scope and Contents
REEL 921: Eight photograph albums, 1941-1971, including photos of Brown's work; photos of Brown at MacDowell Colony working on a series of self-portraits; of Brown, friends, and other artists, including Paul Wonner, Sonia Sekula, John McLaughlin, Jack Zajac, Sterling Holloway, Richard Diebenkorn, Mary Callery, David Park, Robert Shaw, poet May Sarton, playwright William Inge, composers Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, author Christopher Isherwood, and others.
Scope and Contents
REELS 1095 and 1116 (photographs only): Correspondence, ca. 1923-1974; with artists, musicians, writers, composers, and others; privately published letters of Brown's grandfather; sketchbooks, including two from his early years, 1926 and 1930-1934, and six done in Europe, 1945; one sketch by Brown and one each by Paul and Gertrude Hindemith; manuscripts; photographs of family, friends, and associates; photographs of drawings; catalogs and announcements; printed papers; legal documents; and 2 clippings relating to Igor Stravinsky.
Scope and Contents
REEL 1095: Correspondents include: Eugene Anderson, Cecil Beaton, James Broughton, Van Deren Coke, Robert Craft, Jay DeFeo, Elaine De Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Donovan, Vladimir Golschmann, George H. Hamilton, Thomas B. Hess, Gertrude Hindemith (36 letters), Paul Hindemith, David Hockney, Bart Howard, William Inge, Christopher Isherwood, Dorothy Jenkins, Frank Johnson, Gavin Lambert, Jo Lathwood, Amy Loomis, Ben Masselind, Everett Meeks, Nathan Oliveira, Mary Petty, Josephine Carson Rider, Muriel Rukeyser, Eva Marie Saint, Leo Schrade, Bruce Simonds, Helen Stone, Vera Stravinsky, Richard Swift, Ann Tardos and Wayne Thiebaud; many are represented with only one letter.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Painter; San Francisco, Calif. Associated with the late 1950s movement of Bay Area figurative painting. Had particularly close ties with contemporary musical and literary worlds.

Administration

Existence and Location of Originals
Reels 877 & 921: Originals returned to William T. Brown after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reels 877 and 921 lent for microfilming and remainder donated 1974 by William T. Brown. Catalogs on reel 1095 were transferred to NMAA/NPG Library after microfilming.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Composition (Music) -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Composers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson, Eugene Newton Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bachardy, Don, 1934- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barber, Samuel, 1910- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barton, Betsy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beaton, Cecil Walter Hardy, Sir, 1904- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Broughton, James Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Callahan, Harry M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Callery, Mary, 1903-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carson, Josephine, 1919- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coke, Van Deren, 1921- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Craft, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Kooning, Elaine Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Donovan, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Golschmann, Vladimir, 1893-1972 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hamilton, George Heard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hess, Thomas B. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hindemith, Gertrud, 1900-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hindemith, Paul, 1895-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hockney, David Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Holloway, Sterling Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Howard, Bart Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inge, William Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Isherwood, Christopher, 1904- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jenkins, Dorothy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Johnson, Frank Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kiesler, Frederick Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kiesler, Lillian, 1910?-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lambert, Gavin Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lathwood, Jo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Loomis, Amy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Masselind, Ben Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McLaughlin, John, 1898-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Meeks, Everett, 1879-1954 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oliveira, Nathan, 1928-2010 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Park, David, 1911-1960 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Petty, Mary Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rukeyser, Muriel, 1913- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Saint, Eva Marie, 1924- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sarton, May, 1912- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schrade, Leo, 1903-1964 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sekula, Sonja, 1918-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shaw, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Simonds, Bruce Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stone, Helen, 1903- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stravinsky, Igor, 1882-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stravinsky, Vera Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Swift, Richard, 1927- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tardos, Anne, 1943- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thiebaud, Wayne Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wonner, Paul, 1920-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Zajac, Jack, 1929- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davis, Charles H. (Charles Harold), 1856-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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