The records of Boston art gallery and framing shop Margaret Brown Gallery measure 9.3 linear feet and date from 1921 to 1958. The collection comprises correspondence with artists, customers, museums and galleries, and Brown's personal correspondence with her son Rodney and friends; artist files containing correspondence, and to a lesser extent, printed materials, price lists, and letters with potential buyers; gallery records containing administrative and financial files; printed materials that include programs for events in which the gallery participated; and photographic materials including photos of works of art and a few artists, and Brown's personal photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Boston art gallery and framing shop Margaret Brown Gallery measure 9.3 linear feet and date from 1921 to 1958. The collection comprises correspondence with artists, customers, museums and galleries, and Brown's personal correspondence with her son Rodney and friends; artist files containing correspondence, and to a lesser extent, printed materials, price lists, and letters with potential buyers; gallery records containing administrative and financial files; printed materials that include programs for events in which the gallery participated; and photographic materials including photos of works of art and a few artists, and Brown's personal photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-1958 (2.6 linear feet; boxes 1-3, OV 12)
Series 2: Artist's Files, 1946-1958 (2 linear feet; boxes 3-5)
Series 3: Gallery Records, 1934-1958 (3.7 linear feet; boxes 5-7, 9-11)
Series 4: Printed Materials, circa 1952-1957 (0.3 linear feet; box 8)
Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1921-circa 1950 (0.7 linear feet; box 8)
Biographical / Historical:
The Margaret Brown Gallery (est. 1945) was an art gallery and frame shop in Boston, M.A.
Margaret Brown was an assistant at the Grace Horne Gallery before opening her own gallery in 1945 on Newbury Street in Boston. The gallery exhibited prominent New England artists, as well as some New York and European artists. Channing Hare, Hopkins Hensel, Aimee Lamb, and Ethel Edwards were among some of the artists who maintained strong relationships with the gallery. Brown was involved in arranging art exhibitions for Boston arts festivals, and became an esteemed member of Boston's art community despite her short career.
Brown died of a brain tumor in the summer of 1957 at age 49.
Provenance:
The Margaret Brown Gallery records were donated in 1972 by Harold W. Palmer, a shop assistant at the gallery.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts -- Boston
Citation:
Margaret Brown Gallery records, 1921-1958. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
