Henry Kirke Brown papers
name: label: Creator
content: Brown, Henry Kirke, 1814-1886
label: Names
content: United States.. Art Commission
label: Names
content: Bush-Brown, Henry Kirke, 1857-1935
label: Names
content: Catlin, George, 1796-1872
label: Names
content: Fuller, George, 1822-1884
label: Names
content: Gifford, Sanford Robinson, 1823-1880
label: Names
content: Lambdin, James Reid, 1807-1889
label: Names
content: Lang, Louis, 1814-1893
label: Names
content: Palmer, Erastus Dow, 1817-1904
label: Names
content: Powers, Hiram, 1805-1873
label: Names
content: Stone, Horatio, 1808-1875
label: Names
content: Udall, Lydia Louise
place: label: Place
content: Italy -- description and travel
topic: label: Occupation
content: Portrait painters -- Massachusetts
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts
label: Topic
content: Sculpture, Modern--19th century
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Henry Kirke Brown papers were donated to the Archives of American in 1981 by Dorothy Young, who acquired the papers from her husband, an art dealer.
creator: label: Creator
content: Brown, Henry Kirke, 1814-1886
setName: label: See more items in
content: Henry Kirke Brown papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of sculptor and portrait painter Henry Kirke Brown measure 1 linear feet and date from 1836 to 1893. The collection includes Brown's correspondence with his wife, Lydia Louise Udall, his nephew, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and other family members. Also included are letters from artists George Catlin, George Fuller, Sanford R. Gifford, James Reid Lambdin, Louis Lang, Erastus Dow Palmer, Hiram Powers, Horatio Stone, and others; five news clippings; and miscellaneous notes.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Henry Kirke Brown (1814-1886) was an American sculptor and portrait painter born in Leyden, Massachusetts and died in Newburgh, New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1836-1893
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.browhenr
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level after donation. A finding aid was created by Caroline Donadio in 2018.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: This collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 2770 and 2771 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.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of sculptor and portrait painter Henry Kirke Brown measure 1 linear feet and date from 1836 to 1893. The collection includes Brown's correspondence with his wife, Lydia Louise Udall, his nephew, Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, and other family members. Also included are letters from artists George Catlin, George Fuller, Sanford R. Gifford, James Reid Lambdin, Louis Lang, Erastus Dow Palmer, Hiram Powers, Horatio Stone, and others; five news clippings; and miscellaneous notes.

Brown's lengthy letters to his wife reveal his devotion to her and the conflict he felt between his art and his personal life. He discusses his work, including progress on his statue of George Washington, located in Union Square, New York City. Letters to his family from Rome and Florence allude to his awe of Italy's monuments. Also included are letters from Washington, D.C. during Brown's tenure as a member of the U.S. Art Commission in the 1860s.