Joe Brown (March 20, 1909 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania – March 14, 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American figurative sculptor, specializing in athletes. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. Later in his career, he also worked as a playground designer.

Career

The son of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n immigrants, he grew up in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of th ...

in 1926. A gifted athlete, he won a 1927 football scholarship to

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. He left before graduation, and briefly worked as a professional boxer. He made extra money as an artists' model, and became interested in studying sculpture. He served a 7-year apprenticeship under

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

professor and sculptor R. Tait McKenzie. Brown Tackle Philly art

Brown became the boxing coach at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1937, continuing until the early 1960s. He began teaching a sculpting course in 1939, became a resident artist at the university, and was made a full professor of art in 1962. In 1955, he exhibited his sculpture at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

with works by Jose deRivera and William H. "Lone Star" Dietz in an exhibition arranged by

Francis Quirk Francis James Quirk (June 3, 1907 – February 5, 1974) was an American artist, educator, museum curator, and TV personality. He is best known for his paintings of Edgar Lee Masters and Carl Sandberg, as well as his affiliation with Lehigh Unive ...

. He continued teaching at Princeton until his 1977 retirement. In 1955, he exhibited at

with William Dietz and

Jose de Rivera Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galil ...

in an exhibition curated by

. He created more than 400 works - statuettes, portrait busts, and sculptures. Examples are on many college campuses, and in the collections of the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

, the

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighbor ...

, and the

National Art Museum of Sport The National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS) was a fine art museum that focused on a sport theme. Sport art captures emotion: the anxiety of competition, the joy of winning, the agony of defeat. It depicts internal conflict: the pitting of honor and sp ...

. While at Princeton in 1950, he began experimenting with structures for children to engage in active, cooperative play, which was a radical shift in thinking at the time. Brown appeared as himself on the November 5, 1962 episode of the game show To Tell the Truth. He received three of four possible votes.

Selected sculptures

Statuettes

*''Duke Kahanamoku'' (1940).

Duke Kahanamoku Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before th ...

won gold medals in swimming at the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games. *''Jack Kelly'' (1942). Jack Kelly won gold medals in rowing at the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games. *''Jesse Owens'' (1942).

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

won 4 gold medals in track & field at the 1936 Olympic Games. *''Pieta'' (1944). An exhausted boxer cradled by the referee. Winner of

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

's Barnett Prize. *''Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly)'' (1948–49),

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

, Cleveland, Ohio.

Huddie Ledbetter Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standa ...

was a blues guitarist and jazz pioneer. *''Bill Bradley'' (1965).

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

was a member of the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympic Games.

Portrait busts

*''Bust of Robert Frost'' (1953), Jones Library, Amherst, Massachusetts. *''Bust of Louis Brandeis'' (1961),

Harvard University Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts. *''Bust of John Steinbeck'' (1964).

Larger-than-life

*''The Runner'' (1964),

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, Baltimore, Maryland. *''The Discus Thrower'' (1964),

, Baltimore, Maryland. *''Gymnasts (Two Athletes)'' (1969),

McGonigle Hall McGonigle Hall is an athletic facility that is located on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple women's basketball splits games between McGonigle Hall and the Liacouras Center. The gym is also home to Temple women's ...

, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *''Benjamin Franklin - Craftsman'' (1981), Broad Street & John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Veterans Stadium

Four of Brown's sculptures graced

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

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 Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...

, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *''Punter'' (1974) *''Full-Swing (The Batter)'' (1974) *''Tackle'' (1974) *''Play at Second Base'' (1974)''Play at Second Base''
from SIRIS

Gallery

File:Franklin1.JPG, ''Benjamin Franklin - Craftsman'' (1981), Philadelphia, PA. File:Brown Batter Philly art 2.JPG, ''Full-Swing'' at

. File:Brown punter Philly art 2.JPG, ''Punter'' at

References

External links

''Sports Illustrated'' profile, November 5, 1973''Life Magazine'' profile, May 19, 1941
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Joe (sculptor) 1909 births 1985 deaths Artists from Philadelphia Sculptors from Pennsylvania Princeton University faculty American people of Russian descent Temple University alumni 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Olympic competitors in art competitions Sports artists