Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Brents Carlton Papers, 1903-2014, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.carlbren
Creators:
Carlton, Brents, 1903-1962
Dates:
1903-2014
Languages:
Collection is in English.
Physical Description:
4.7 Linear feet
0.528 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of sculptor and painter Brents Carlton measure 4.7 linear feet and 0.528 GB and date from 1903 through 2014. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes, a scrapbook, exhibition files, art work, photographs, digital photographs, and printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of sculptor and painter Brents Carlton measure 4.7 linear feet and 0.528 GB and date from 1903 through 2014. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes, a scrapbook, exhibition files, art work, photographs, digital photographs, and printed material.
Biographical materials include several autobiographical accounts, school-related materials, a student card from the Art Students' League, and other identification cards.
Correspondence consists primarily of letters from family members and colleagues, including letters from Victor Arnautoff, H. Mallette Dean, Margaret De Patta, Eugen Neuhaus, Dale Nichols, and Judson T. Smith.
Personal business records include bank passbooks, pharmacy licensing records, receipts, income tax records, and ledgers of income, expenses, and art work sold.
Notes consists of Brents Carlton's address book, notebooks, and meeting minutes, as well as notes written by his daughter Carrie Carlton Helser.
There is one scrapbook. Exhibition files include correspondence, notes, photographs, and printed material related to the Golden Gate International Exhibition and other shows. There are also sketches, drawings, and prints by Carlton in the artwork series.
Photographic material includes an album, slides, negatives, and prints depicting Brents Carlton and his artwork, friends, family, and studios.
Printed material includes magazines, brochures, catalogs, and clippings.
A 2015 addition to the Brents Carlton papers includes additional biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, photographic material, and printed material.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 10 series. Series 10 consists of a 2015 addition to the papers that was not integrated into the other series, although there are similar types of materials.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1921-1944 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1987 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 1, 6)
  • Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1924-1959 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 4: Notes, circa 1923-2009 (0.1 linear feet; Boxes 1, 6, 0.013 GB; ER01)
  • Series 5: Scrapbook, 1928-1962 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6)
  • Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1927-1983 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 8)
  • Series 7: Art Work, 1924-1962 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, 6, OV 8)
  • Series 8: Photographs, 1923-circa 1960 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 6-7)
  • Series 9: Printed Material, 1923-2012 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
  • Series 10: 2015 Addition to the Brents Carlton Papers, 1903-2014 (2.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-5, 7, 0.515 GB; ER02-ER03)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Brents Carlton was a sculptor and painter who worked primarily in San Francisco, California.
Brents Carlton was born on October 31, 1903, in Roswell, New Mexico; his family later moved to Arkansas. In 1924, Carlton moved to San Francisco to attend the California School of Fine Arts for four years. From 1928 to 1929, he studied under a scholarship at the Art Students' League in New York, after which he returned to San Francisco and established his own studio at Polk Street. In order to support his family, Carlton was also employed as a pharmacist for 30 years.
In 1937, Carlton moved to a studio on Montgomery Street. In 1938, Carlton was commissioned to create four of his most notable works for the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940) on Treasure Island: two large cast concrete figures for the Fountain of Western Waters at the Court of Pacifica, and two 18-foot bas-relief figures for the façade of the California State Building. He married Jessie Bosworth in 1939 and they had a daughter Carrie.
In the mid-1940s, Carlton relocated to a new studio above the pharmacy on Mission Street, where he worked. Due to failing health in the late 1950s, Carlton switched from sculpture to painting. Brents Carlton died of cancer on September 6, 1962 in San Francisco. His works have been exhibited in the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Oakland Art Gallery, and the San Francisco Museum.

Administration

Author
Jean Fitzgerald and Rihoko Ueno
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Brents Carlton papers were donated by the artist's daughter Carrie Carlton Helser in 1991 and 2015.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of this collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5873-5874 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.
Processing Information
The first accretion of the Brents Carlton papers was processed by Jean Fitzgerald in 2004. A 2015 addition of 2.1 linear feet was processed by Rihoko Ueno in 2016. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of 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.
Preferred Citation
Brents Carlton papers, 1903-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- California Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Judson, 1880-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nichols, Dale, 1904- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neuhaus, Eugen, 1879-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dean, Mallette, 1907- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Patta, Margaret, 1903-1964 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arnautoff, Victor Mikhail, 1896-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Helser, Carrie Carlton Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions