Jules David Prown research material on artists
name: label: Creator
content: Prown, Jules David
label: Names
content: Copley, John Singleton, 1738-1815
label: Names
content: West, Benjamin, 1738-1820
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- Connecticut
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Jules David Prown from 2003-2023.
creator: label: Creator
content: Prown, Jules David
setName: label: See more items in
content: Jules David Prown research material on artists
abstract: label: Summary
content: Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 12.2 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork. Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Art historian Jules David Prown (1930- ) is a Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.   He is an authority on American art and material culture.  Prown is a graduate of Lafayette College and the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware.  He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961 with a dissertation on John Singleton Copley.  That year he joined the faculty of the Department of the History of Art at Yale University where he was also  Curator of American Art at the University Art Gallery and the founding Director of the Yale Center for British Art.  In 1966 he published the two-volume John Singleton Copley.  While working on the publication he conducted an in-depth computer analysis of Copley's 240 American sitters.  Prown retired from Yale in 1999.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 12.2 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.004 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1935-2018
label: Date
content: bulk 1958-1975
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.prowjule
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 5 series. The original order of the donor was maintained.

Series 1: Research Material on John Singleton Copley, 1935-2018 (8.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-9, 15, 0.004 GB; ER01)

Series 2: Research Material on Benjamin West, 1965-1990s (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 12-14)

Series 3: Research Material on Other Artists, 1950s-2008 (0.4 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 4: Lectures, 1960s-2010 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 10-11)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1960-2000 (0.3 linear feet; Box 11)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Erin Kinhart in 2013 and 2014, with updates in 2016. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. A small addition was processed, and the finding aid updated by Ricky Gomez in 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Jules David Prown research material on artists measures 12.2 linear feet and 0.004 GB and dates from 1935 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1958 to 1975. Prown, an art historian and educator, is an authority on the work of artist John Singleton Copley, and these papers contain related notes, subject files, correspondence, portrait and attribution files, and photographs and digital photographs of artwork.  Also found are Prown's research files on other artists, including Benjamin West, typescripts of his lectures, and copies of his published writings.

The bulk of the collection consists of Prown's research material on the work of John Singleton Copley, including notes and correspondence he compiled while working on his dissertation and later two-volume work John Singleton Copley. Of interest are a set of notes regarding the computer analysis of sitters of John Singleton Copley. Included are detailed biographical forms for each sitter and lists of codes and cross references used for Prown's computer analysis.  Topics of his notes and subject files include biographical information on Copley, technique and materials, specific works of art such as Watson and the Shark, and painting themes. Correspondence found throughout his research files usually discuss dates of paintings, attribution, and provenance.  Photographs and related printed material are often included with correspondence.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Jules David Prown papers, 1954-2018, is located at Yale University Archives.