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Brown (Jean) papers
890164
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Title: Jean Brown papers
Date (inclusive): 1916-1995 (bulk
1958-1985)
Number: 890164
Creator/Collector:
Brown, Jean,
1911-1994
Physical Description:
322 Linear Feet
(329 boxes, 8 rolls, 64 flat file folders)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: An extensive study collection of
avant-garde materials amassed by librarian and art collector, Jean Brown. Her collection
documents the Dada and Surrealist art movements and their offshoots, especially Fluxus, mail
art, and concrete poetry. Materials include letters, printed matter and ephemera, clippings,
nearly 500 art objects, sound recordings, motion pictures, and video recordings.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
described in this inventory through the catalog records for this collection:
890164 and
2016.M.14 . Click here for the
access
policy
.
Language: Collection material is in
English.
Jean Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York, 20 December 1911. Her father, Irving Levy, was a
rare book dealer. During the Depression Brown worked in a library in Springfield,
Massachusetts where she was trained in library cataloging.
Brown amassed a significant and rich body of materials by many of the most influential and
challenging artists of the 20th century. The initial inspiration for the collection was
provided by
Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology, 1951,
edited by Robert Motherwell. In the 1960s Brown and her husband, Leonard Brown, traveled to
Europe frequently to acquire Dada and Surrealist art works, books, pamphlets and papers,
many of which were documented in Motherwell's anthology.
When Leonard died in 1971, Brown moved into the Shaker Seed House in Tyringham,
Massachusetts. From this point on her collection grew rapidly as Brown acquired materials
from the movements, especially Fluxus, mail art and concrete poetry, that grew out of Dada
and Surrealism. Many of these artists worked on the fringes of the established museum and
gallery system and showed their work in alternative spaces or created alternative
distribution systems.
Brown's primary goal was to assemble a study collection. She acquired comprehensively on
the topics mentioned above. This included standing orders with some small presses to acquire
all of their output. Her early appreciation of books lead naturally to an interest in
artists' books. If an artist's work interested her she asked the artist to create a book for
her archive. In the early 1970s, her son Jon sent notices about the archive to every art
history graduate program. Scholars and graduate students with research interests were
invited to use the collection.
Brown maintained close friendships with many of the artists whose work she collected,
including George Maciunas, Dick Higgins, Ken Friedman, Peter Frank, Mirella Bentivoglio, and
Rimma and Valeriy Gerlovin, to name a few. They visited frequently and created works for the
archive in her upstairs workroom, a room designed by Maciunas. Brown became a part of the
international mail art network. Every major mail artist sent her examples of their work.
Eventually, she found it impossible to keep up with the quantity of mail she was receiving
and by the mid-1980s had stopped answering their letters. Brown died May 1, 1994 in
Tyringham.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Contact
Library Reproductions
and Permissions
.
Jean Brown papers, 1916-1995 (bulk 1958-1985), Getty Research Institute, Research Library,
Accession nos. 890164 and 2016.M.14
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa890164
Acquired from Jean Brown in 1988 with the exception of Series VIII. Correspondence with
Bernard Karpel and miscellaneous notes, 1958-1973, undated, which was acquired from the
family of Jean Brown in 2016 (2016.M.14).
A number of people processed and cataloged parts of the Jean Brown papers from 1988-2002.
Eric Vos, a researcher and consultant during periods of 1988, 1989 and 1990, processed and
cataloged sections of the collection (see research file for his report and checklist). Jon
Hendricks, consultant, visited in August 1989 and helped Vos identify Fluxus materials.
Intern Albert DePetrillo organized a portion of the correspondence in February 1990.
Some of the objects were damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. This incident prompted
a team of collection maintenance personnel - Rick Zwies, John Pearson, Jessica Holada - to
measure and order boxes for each object and write conservation notes. Most of this work was
done in 1995-1996, but continued until 1997. Bennington intern Mikel Wadewitz and Pearson
photographed about 70% of the objects.
From April 1996 to May 1997, Lynda Bunting reorganized Vos's series arrangements, sorted
and integrated unprocessed materials from ca. 25 boxes, and wrote the bulk of this finding
aid. Much of the Dada and Surrealist ephemera had been separated from the archive in
1985-1986. Bunting collected these materials, along with some others that had been
separated, and reintegrated them into the collection. In addition, she transferred to the
library 181 sound recordings and ca. 950 books, serials, and prints. Over 320 book sales
catalogs were deaccessioned. The art objects were reorganized into a rough alphabetical
order, thus rendering Vos' numbering system obsolete.
In Summer 1996, Phil Curtis integrated and organized materials within Series II. and
Series III. From September-December 1996, Kirsten Hammer organized most of Series III.,
Series IV., and Series V. Peter Frank was hired as a consultant for four days in February
1997 to make attributions on unidentified items.
In 2000-2002 Annette Leddy and Julio Vera provided object-level descriptions for the art
objects in Series VI.
In 2016, one box of additional correspondence and notes received from the family of Jean
Brown was cataloged by Kit Messick and intellectually integrated into the collection as
Series VIII. In December 2018, three boxes of unprocessed material, maily prints and
posters, were processed and intellectually integrated into Series I. by Pietro Rigolo (boxes
319*, 320*, 321). In Summer 2021, Petra Warren updated the finding aid in ArchivesSpace by
intelectually reorganizing the hierarchical description and adding date components at the
file level in Series I.
Dick Higgins papers, 1960-1994 (bulk 1972-1993), Accession no. 870613.
Bern Porter mail art collection, 1953-1992 (bulk 1978-1992), Accession no. 900270.
Published items, including a large number of small press books and journals, were
transferred to the general collection of the Getty Research Institute. They can be found by
searching the
library catalog for the phrase "Jean Brown Collection."
Scope and Content of Collection
The Jean Brown papers (1916-1995, bulk 1958-1985) form a significant ensemble of original
works and printed matter, and document Brown's intent to build a study collection of
avant-garde materials. Dada and Surrealism provided the core inspiration for Brown's
acquisitions, as well as for the later artists whose work she collected. In-depth holdings
by artists participating in Fluxus, happenings, concrete, sound and visual poetry, new
music, mail art, copy art, rubber stamp printing, and video and performance art underscore
her range of interests. The collection's broad scope presents a comprehensive account of
alternative movements, distribution networks and exhibition venues of the 1960s and
1970s.
Materials by Fluxus and mail artists comprise the bulk of Series I. Of primary import are
manuscripts, performance instructions, scores, correspondence, drawings and announcements by
Fluxus artists. Concrete, visual and sound poetry is substantially represented through
manuscripts, typescripts, chapbooks and prints.
Announcements and invitations in Series II include postcards, fliers, press releases and
posters from galleries, museums and avant-garde artists' spaces. The majority of the venues
are situated in New York City, providing a rich account of exhibitions, happenings and
poetry readings within a prolific artistic community.
Series III includes printed ephemera and clippings of Dada and Surrealism, copy art, dance,
Fluxus, happenings, mail art, music, poetry, rubber stamp printing, semiotics, small
presses, and video. Items typically document group activities occurring in venues different
from those in Series II. The small presses section, the bulk of this series, is comprised of
catalogs and publicity from publishers, distributors and bookstores dealing in artists'
books, poetry and art multiples.
Series IV comprises clippings from newspapers and magazines concerning artists, galleries,
books, and cultural trends. The most common sources are the New York Times and New Yorker
magazine.
Series V consists of Brown's personal files including a transcript copy of her UCLA Oral
History (1993), and an annotated copy of Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology. There are
several series of card catalogs handwritten by Brown listing her collection of books and
objects.
Series VI forms a significant portion of the archive, consisting of approximately 500
original art objects created by Fluxus artists and other contemporaries. Many of the items
are small-scale and ephemeral, reflecting the Fluxus spirit of mass-produced or home-made
inexpensive art. Some are one-of-a-kind pieces created especially for Brown.
Series VII includes audio recordings, primarily of new music, poetry readings and lectures,
some of which are homemade or were recorded live. Recordings include a lecture by Marcel
Duchamp, works by John Cage and Opal Nations, homemade cassettes by Klaus Groh, a film by
Joseph Beuys and a video by the Gerlovins (Rimma Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin) comprising
clips of Brown in her home with Fluxus objects.
The Correspondence in Series VIII predominantly comprises letters received from Bernard
Karpel (1911-1986), bibliographer and chief librarian of the Museum of Modern Art from 1942
to 1973. The letters, largely addressed to Jean, relate chiefly to the development and
provenance of Brown's collection of Dada, Surrealist, and Fluxus art documentation.
Publications received with the archive have been separated to the Getty Research Library
and they can be found by searching the library catalog for the phrase "Jean Brown
Collection."
The collection is arranged in 8 series: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Series I. Artists' files, 1916-1995, bulk 1958-1985
Series II.
Announcements and invitations, ca. 1960-1989, bulk 1970-1985
Series III.
Topical ephemera, 1917-1989, bulk 1965-1989
Series IV. Miscellaneous clippings,
1957-1987, bulk 1980-1985
Series V. Jean Brown personal files, 1993, undated
Series VI. Art
objects, 1958-1986, undated
Series VII. Audiovisual materials, 1965-1987, undated
Series
VIII. Correspondence with Bernard Karpel and miscellaneous notes, 1958-1973,
undated.
Brown, Jean, 1911-1994
Video art
Art, Modern -- 20th century
Visual poetry
Dadaism
Fluxus (Group of artists)
Concrete poetry
Copy art
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States -- 20th
century
Performance art
Music -- 20th century
Happening (Art)
Surrealism
Sound poetry
Small presses
Rubber stamp printing
Audiocassettes
Videotapes
Ephemera
Audiotapes
Scores
Motion pictures (information artifacts)
Mail art
Young, La Monte
Fine, Albert
Mac Low, Jackson
Shiomi, Mieko
Souza, Al, 1944-
Spoerri, Daniel, 1930-
Truck, Fred
Roth, Dieter, 1930-1998
Saito, Takako,
1929-
Schwitters, Kurt, 1887-1948
Sharits, Paul
Vostell, Wolf, 1932-1998
Vries, Herman de,
1931-
Man Ray, 1890-1976
Watts, Robert,
1923-1988
Williams, Emmett
Tzara, Tristan, 1896-1963
Ulrichs, Timm
Valoch, Jiří
Vautier, Ben, 1935-
Corner, Philip
Coracle Press
Colby, Sas
Cobbing, Bob, 1920-2002
Clark, Thomas A.
Cavellini, Guglielmo Achille,
1914-
Nannucci, Maurizio,
1939-
Campos, Augusto de
Cage, John
Brown, Jean,
1911-1994
Brecht, George
Karpel, Bernard,
1911-1986
Beuys, Joseph
Bennett, John M.
Banana, Anna,
1940-
Furnival, John, 1933-
Galántai, György
Friedman, Ken,
1949-
Furnival, Astrid, 1940-
Frank, Peter, 1950-
Franklin Furnace
(Archive)
Finlay, Ian Hamilton
Etlinger,
Amelia
Filliou, Robert
Durland, Steven
Ernst, Max, 1891-1976
Desnos, Robert, 1900-1945
COUM Transmissions (Musical
group)
D S H (Dom Sylvester Houédard),
1924-1992
Kitchen Center for Video, Music, Dance,
Performance, Film, and Literature (New York, N.Y.)
Kirkeby, Per
Knížák, Milan
Knowles, Alison, 1933-
Huelsenbeck, Richard, 1892-1974
Horn, Stu
Johnson, Ray, 1927-1995
Institute for Art and Urban
Resources
Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998
Hendricks, Geoffrey
Hompson, Davi Det,
1939-1996
Higgins, E. F.
Gerlovina, Rimma
Gerlovin, Valeriy
Held, John, 1947-
Groh, Klaus, 1936-
Pittore, Carlo
Porter, Bern,
1911-2004
Random, S. (Steven),
1954-
Ono, Yōko
Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006
Patterson, Ben, 1934-2016
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968
Phillips, Tom, 1927-2005
Nations, Opal L.
Olbrich, Jürgen
O.
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-
Leo Castelli
Gallery
Maciunas, George, 1931-1978
Moorman, Charlotte