Joe Brown

Art Brokerage: Joe Brown American Artist: b. 1909-1985. Joe Brown born March 20, 1909 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – died March 14, 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an American figurative sculptor.rnThe son of Russian immigrants, he grew up in South Philadelphia. A gifted athlete, he won a 1927 football scholarship to Temple University. One of Brown's natural talents was boxing, and he began his boxing career at Temple University where he became the Amateur Athletic Union's (AAU) heavyweight champion. He was lured away from the amateur realm by the money and fame of the professional boxing world, but his professional career was short-lived. A boxing injury resulted in Brown's introduction to the world of art, and he became a sculptor almost by accident. Since he was an athlete he got a job posing for artists at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He soon realized he was interested in sculpting. That year he sculpted a boxer, his brother Harry and a ballet dancer. All three works were accepted into the annual exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine. His work caught the eye of Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, a noted physician and sculptor. Brown served a seven-year apprenticeship to Dr. McKenzie and then joined the Princeton University staff as boxing coach in 1937, continuing until the early 1960s. In 1939 he began teaching a sculpture course and eventually became a full professor of art. He continued teaching at Princeton until his 1977 retirement. He created more than 400 works - statuettes, portrait busts, and monumental sculptures. Four of Brown's sculptures graced Veterans Stadium from 1976 to 2003. Removed prior to the 2004 demolition, the sculptures were restored and relocated in 2005. They are now located near Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Examples are on many college campuses, and in the collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design, Princeton University Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and the National Art Museum of Sport. Listings wanted.