Robert Delford Brown papers
name: label: Creator
content: Brown, Robert Delford
label: Names
content: Amaya, Mario
label: Names
content: Oldenburg, Claes, 1929- -- Photographs
topic: label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2010 and 2018 by Lynda Roscoe Hartigan who purchased the collection at auction.
creator: label: Creator
content: Brown, Robert Delford
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert Delford Brown papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter, sculptor, and performance artist Robert Delford Brown measure 3.9 linear feet and 7.98 GB and date from 1964-2009. The papers document his career as an artist and in particular the arts space "church" he founded in New York City, known as The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, church records, printed and digital material, photographic material, and video records of performance art. Brown's early career is documented in one scrapbook containing photographs, notes, press materials, and select artwork and documentation of ephemeral and performance artworks.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Robert Delford Brown (1930-2009) was a painter, sculptor, and performance artist practicing in New York City, N.Y. Brown was a participant in many art happenings in New York during the 1960s and frequently performed in the persona of a religious leader and founder of his own religion and church, The First National Church of the Exquisite Panic, Inc. which functioned as a community arts space.

Brown was born in Portland, Colorado. His family later moved to Long Beach, California, and he recived bachelor's and master's degrees at University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career as a Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist painter, and in 1959 moved to New York City. In 1963 he married Rhett Cone. While visiting Paris he met the artist Allan Kaprow who encouraged him to participate in a 1964 performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Originale." This performance served as the inspiration for founding The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. That same year Brown also gained media attention for his "Meat Show," an installation of raw meat which he created in a refrigerated room at the Washington Meat Market in New York City.

In 1967 Brown selected a former New York City branch library as a home for his church and hired Modernist architect Paul Rudolph to redesign the interior. He called the space "The Great Building Crack-Up" and lived there until 1997, hosting art exhibitions, happenings, and preaching his philosophy known as Pharblongence. During Brown's later career he organized many participatory art events, such as "Collaborative Action Gluings." He moved to Houston, Texas in 1997 and later moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, in preparation for a solo exhibition at the Cameron Art Museum in 2008. Robert Delford Brown died in 2009.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.9 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 7.98 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1964-2009
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.browrober
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Vhs (videotape format)
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1992-2009 (Box 1, 5; 0.7 linear feet, ER01; 2.23 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2009 (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 3: First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. Records, 1968-2000s (Box 1, 4, 5; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1964-2008 (Box 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographic Material, 1965-2009 (Box 2-3; 1.1 linear feet, ER02; 0.785 GB)

Series 6: Video Recordings of Performance Art, 1994-2005 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet, ER03-ER05; 4.96 GB)

Series 7: Scrapbook, 1964-1974 (Box 5; 4 folders)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1965-2008 (Oversize 6-7)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and described in a finding aid in 2012 by Erin Kinhart. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. A 2018 addition of artwork was processed in 2019 by Ryan Evans.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: VHS (videotape format)
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of painter, sculptor, and performance artist Robert Delford Brown measure 3.9 linear feet and 7.98 GB and date from 1964-2009. The papers document his career as an artist and in particular the arts space "church" he founded in New York City, known as The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, church records, printed and digital material, photographic material, and video records of performance art. Brown's early career is documented in one scrapbook containing photographs, notes, and press materials.

Biographical material includes a career summary, one diary, one interview transcript, and two interview recordings on videocassette. Correspondence is minimal and includes four letters written by Brown and letters and postcards from others. Printed material consists mostly of books and event announcements documenting Brown's career. Photographs depict his travels in Brazil and China, artwork, and a collaborative event in Paris. Video recordings depict a solo performance art piece and three collaborative performance art events.

Records of the First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. include items produced for events, such as graphics, a t-shirt, "teachings," as well as reproductions of artwork created as part of the church. Also included are founding documents and manifestos.

One scrapbook contains detailed documentation on Brown's career from 1964 to 1974. Included are photographs and press materials for his "Meat Show" event, additional records of the founding of his church, and photographs of various events and happenings at his church. People depicted in the photographs include Brown, Claes Oldenburg, and art critic Mario Amaya, among others.

Artwork includes works on paper incorporating stamps and text from around 2002 to 2008, as well as artwork documentation for ephemeral and performance artworks including Originale (1964), Out of Order Please Use Toilet Down the Hall Across the Lobby (1965), Free Striptease with Drum and Bugle Corps Accompaniment (1966), The Great Building Crack-Up (1967), Mr. Jesus Christ Contest (1972), Turd Forest (1972), and others.