The portions of the William J. and Jane Brown papers that were lent for microfilming in 1991 by Jane Brown were subsequently donated by Jane Brown 1995 and 2015 along with additional papers.
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2018. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
William J. and Jane Brown papers, circa 1940-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
William "Bill" J. Brown (1923-1992) was a designer and educator who was married to Jane Brown (1932- ), an arts administrator. They lived in Bakersville, North Carolina.
Bill Brown was born in Flint, Michigan in 1923. He studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art receiving a bachelor of fine art in 1949, a master of fine art in 1950, and was chosen to work at Corning Glass Works for a summer. After his studies, he taught at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and at the University of Delaware. In 1962 Lucy Morgan, who founded the Penland School of Crafts in 1929 in North Carolina, retired and offered the position of director to Bill. At the time, the school focused on traditional mountain crafts. As director, Bill changed the emphasis of the school to the advancement of professional craftsmen and the expansion of media to include iron and glass. He began a resident artist program that allowed artists to develop their skills at a low cost. Together, Bill and Jane created a supportive community of craftsmen that attracted renowned artists to teach and work at Penland. Bill resigned as director in 1983 but remained a respected member of the arts community. He earned several awards including the North Carolina Award in the Fine Arts in 1991.
Jane Brown graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor of arts in education and a master's degree in special education. Jane studied the Alexander Technique, a technique that can be used to improve the performance of dancers and musicians.
Bill Brown died in 1992. After his death, Jane participated in the dedication of the Bill Brown Glass Studio at Penland during a Glass Arts Society conference in 1995. She continues to live in Bakersville, North Carolina.
The papers of William J. and Jane Brown date from circa 1940-2014 and measure 7.9 linear feet. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews, writings and notes, printed material and documentaries, photographs and moving images, and administrative records from the Penland School of Crafts where William served as director from 1962 to 1983.
Biographical materials consists of awards, business cards, annotated calendars, consignment forms, material from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, resumes, sketches, and student documents. Correspondence is with artists, former students, instructors, local residents, Paulus Berensohn, Robert Ebendorf, Theodore Hallman, Lucy Morgan, Toshiko Takaezu, and others.
Sound and video recordings are of interviews with Bill and Jane Brown, Lucy Morgan, and "Flossie" Perisho regarding personal and Penland history. One transcript of Marvin Lipofsky's conversation with Bill is also included. Bill's writings are on industrial design, directing Penland, and mankind. Two notebooks contain daily logs, sketches, and other notes. Notes by Bill and Jane are on inventions, John Ehle, metal history, poems, and other topics. Other writings are about Bill and a manuscript on craftsman education by Harold J. Brennan.
Penland's administrative records contain files documenting the board of trustees, residents program, a special 2-week session, artwork, Bill Brown's Glass Studio dedication ceremony schedule, a certificate of incorporation, financial material, grant proposals, and maps. Also found are records of Penland's 50th birthday celebration, including a video recording of "A Quest" by Dan Bailey.
Books, booklets, four documentary video recordings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, flyers, pamphlets, periodicals, postcards, posters, and stickers and patches designed by Bill are in printed materials. Photographs and slides are of Bill and Jane; family and friends; works of art; and of Penland's grounds, students, and faculty along with photographs and video recordings documenting Penland's history.
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Portions of the collection are available on microfilm reels 4516-4518. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in this finding aid does not reflect the order of the material on microfilm.
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with William J. Brown and his wife Jane Brown conducted on January 19, 1991 and March 2, 1991 by Jane Kessler.
This series consists of awards for Bill and Jane Brown, including the prestigious North Carolina Award in the Fine Arts awarded to Bill in 1991, business cards, annotated calendars, consignment paperwork for Bill's artwork, material from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, resumes, sketches, and a couple of student documents. Letters from friends and colleagues of Bill supporting his nomination for the North Carolina Award in the Fine Arts are also found in this series.
Recording is from the University of North Carolina Center for Public TV.
The picture appears to be a digital print of the original photograph.
Oversized material housed in Box 9, Folder 2.
Correspondence is with artists, former students, instructors, and local residents and typically relates to Penland activities. Personal correspondence includes colorfully, illustrated cards and letters from Paulus Berensohn, as well as, letters with Robert Ebendorf, Theodore Hallman, Lucy Morgan, Toshiko Takaezu, and sympathy cards to Jane after Bill's death.
Includes letter from Penland to Bill regarding payment after his dismissal in folder 2.
Oversized material housed in Box 9, Folder 3.
Includes correspondence with Philis Alvic and various correspondents regarding the Bill Brown Glass Studio dedication.
A majority of the interviews are sound and video recordings of Bill, Jane, Lucy Morgan, and "Flossie" Perisho regarding Penland and their personal histories. A transcript, including drafts, of "A Conversation with Bill Brown" with Marvin Lipofsky is also in this series.
Includes a clip from the North Carolina Awards Ceremony from 1991.
Includes an annotated draft and two copies of a final transcript.
Found in this series are a few writings by Bill Brown including a student paper titled "Industrial Design," his philosophy of directing Penland, and a draft for an article on mankind. Two notebooks contain a mixture of daily logs, sketches, and miscellaneous notes. Notes are on inventions by Bill, the ideas of John Ehle, the history of metals, poems, and other topics by Bill and Jane. Other writings include a manuscript for an article in
Includes two notebooks.
The administrative records for Penland contain material for Penland's 50th birthday celebration that includes plans, a video recording of the performance "A Quest" by Dan Bailey, photographs, and a scrapbook. The board of trustees files contain correspondence regarding funding and activities, meeting minutes, and letters of support for Bill when the board dismissed him as director of Penland in 1983. Files for the residents program and the special 2-week session include an autograph book, exhibition material, Bill Brown's memorial fund, scrapbooks, and questionnaires with responses from participants about the programs. Other files are of artwork, Bill Brown's glass studio dedication ceremony schedule, a photocopy of Penland's certificate of incorporation, financial material, grant proposals written by Bill and Jane, and maps.
Includes artwork by Francis Merritt and an artist's proof of drawing of Penland grounds by W.P. Jennerjahn.
Certificate is a photocopy of the original 1929 document and includes only the first two pages.
Found here are books, booklets, four video recordings of documentaries about crafts, a digitized music recording, exhibition catalogs and announcements, flyers, pamphlets, periodicals, postcards, posters, and stickers and patches with Penland's logo designed by Bill Brown. Almost all publications relate to Penland or are annotated by Jane Brown.
Includes "The Penland Book of Practical Kites," "The Craftsman's Cookbook," and a few other books signed to Bill and Jane.
Includes the Penland publications
Oversized material housed in Box 9, Folder 2.
Includes "A Penland Summer," "Patterns of Rural Art" and "Old Crafts and New Horizons" by Allen Eaton, and "Penland School of Handicraft" by Thor Behrens.
Many of the catalogs are signed to Bill and Jane.
Includes pamplets from Haystack and Penland.
Includes articles on Bill and his glass studio.
Oversized material housed in Box 9, Folder 2.
Photographs of Bill and Jane Brown include portraits and candid photographs of Jane, the Browns together and with family and friends. Photographs of Bill include portraits, his early life at Cranbrook and in the Army, at Penland, and a scrapbook titled "Bill and Friends." Penland photographs are of faculty and students, Penland grounds, Lucy Morgan, and Bonnie Ford. One of the two photo albums of Penland events include photographs of Joan Mondale visiting Penland in "Event 77." Other material consists of slide shows of artists and artwork, works of art from the Brown's craft collection, and works of art by Bill and others. Copies of historical photographs originating in the 1930s-1940s show Penland's early classrooms, buildings, and students, as well as Lucy Morgan's mobile log cabin. Three video recordings appear to be a history of Penland recorded by Chris Felver.
Oversized material housed in Box 10, Folder 1.
Includes photographs of faculty members' children, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn during a visit to Penland, a class taught by Tom Cox, and the "National Endowment Snow Job" project. Oversized material housed in Box 9, Folders 4-6 and Box 10, Folders 2-3.
Oversized group photos housed in RD 11.
Includes photographs of the construction of the glass studio, Penland buildings, and landscapes. Oversized material housed in Box 10, Folder 4.
Oversized material housed in Box 10, Folder 5.
Includes artwork by Bill Brown. Oversized material housed in Box 10, Folder 6.
Photographs are copies of historic photographs of Penland taken in 1930s-1940s.
Includes five panoramic group photographs.