J. Carter Brown
John Carter Brown III was the director of the U.S. National Gallery of Art from 1969 to 1992 and a leading figure in American intellectual life. Under Brown's direction, the National Gallery became one of the leading art museums in the United States, if not the world. He was known as a champion of the arts and public access to art at a time of decreased public spending on the humanities.
Early life
Brown was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 8, 1934, to John Nicholas Brown II and Anne Seddon Kinsolving Brown. His family had been prominent since before the American Revolution. His ancestors donated the initial endowment for Brown University and served as professors, administrators, and benefactors of the school in its early years. His father, John Nicholas Brown II, served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) under President Harry S. Truman. Brown’s parents, both involved in numerous cultural organizations, encouraged their son’s interest in art. Brown was raised in his family's historic home, the Nightingale-Brown House.As a boy, he attended the Arizona Desert School near Tucson, Arizona, before completing his secondary education at the Groton School in Massachusetts, where he graduated at the top of his class. He spent one year at the Stowe School in England before enrolling at Harvard University. He graduated summa cum laude with a major in History and Literature and was president of the Harvard Glee Club. Seeking a unique entry point into the world of art and culture, Brown decided to pursue a business degree long before "arts management" existed as a common course of study. After completing his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School, he spent a year studying with Harvard-trained art historian Bernard Berenson in Florence, Italy. He then enrolled at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. After completing his master's degree, he decided not to complete a Ph.D. in art history.
Retirement
After leaving the National Gallery in 1992, Brown became chairman of Ovation, a cable television arts network that furthered his ambition to "bring the arts into people's living rooms." He remained involved in many cultural organizations, including the Commission of Fine Arts, American Federation of Arts, the National Academy of Design, the Storm King Art Center, and the World Monuments Fund. He continued to serve also as a trustee of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University and as chairman of the jury for the Pritzker Prize, the leading award for architecture. He became a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992 and 1993, respectively. In 1993 he was presented with the Honor Award by the National Building Museum at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. In 2001, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member and operatic soprano Kathleen Battle.Personal life
In 1971, Brown married Constance Barber Byers, a daughter of Richard King Mellon, granddaughter of Richard B. Mellon, and the former wife of William Russell Grace Byers. She was also a niece of Paul Mellon, chairman of the National Gallery's Board of Trustees and a major donor. They divorced in 1973.In 1976, he married Pamela Braga Drexel in Westminster Abbey, London. She was the daughter of B. Rionda Braga, a Cuban who was involved in the sugar business, and was the former wife of John R. Drexel IV. Before their divorce in 1991, they were the parents of two children:
- John Carter Brown IV
- Elissa Lucinda Rionda Brown.
Near the end of his life, he became engaged to marry Anne Hawley of Brookline, Massachusetts, Director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He had also begun writing a book about his life and his father's life.