J. Carter Brown
| John Carter Brown III | |
|---|---|
| Director of the National Gallery of Art | |
|
In office 1969–1992 |
|
| Preceded by | John Walker |
| Succeeded by | Earl Alexander Powell III |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 8, 1934 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Died | June 17, 2002 (aged 67) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Children | John Carter Brown IV Elissa Lucinda Brown |
| Parents | John Nicholas Brown II |
| Occupation | Director |
John Carter Brown III (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2002), 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.
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.
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.
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