Ben Brown World War II drawings collection
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Abstract
The collection contains 131 loose drawing and two sketchbooks of drawings and paintings in graphite, colored pencil, pen and ink, pastel, and watercolor. The drawing are of soldiers and their daily lives during World War II as well as landscapes of Italy and North Africa. There is also a photograph album documenting Brown's experiences during the war.
Biographical Note
Ben Brown was born Ben Hurwitz in 1921 in the Bronx, New York. He attended the High School of Music and Art in New York and after graduation studied art at the University of Iowa before enlisting in the United States Army in 1942. In 1943, after basic training, he was shipped to North Africa and then to Italy a few months later. During his two years in the service, he kept a record of his experiences by sketching and painting whenever he had the chance.
Hurwitz changed his name to Brown after the war. He put aside his war sketches but continued to work in the arts as a painter, cartoonist and photographer. In 1995, just two years before his death, his son Joshua Brown convinced him to revisit his wartime drawings. A selection of his work, along with Brown's comments, can be found online on the History Matters website: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/text/s1.html.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in three series:
Series I. Drawings
Series II. Sketchbooks
Series III. Album
The drawings are further sorted by size and arranged by subject and location, when known.
Scope and Contents
The Ben Brown World War II Drawings Collection spans the period from 1943 to 1945 and contains 131 loose drawings and painting and two sketchbooks made during Brown's time in the United States Army during World War II. Images primarily include soldiers in North Africa and Italy, on duty and at rest. It also contains a photo album and clippings from Brown's tour of duty.
Subjects
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Topics
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: Ben Brown World War II Drawings Collection, PR 274, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Joshua Brown, 2008 and 2017.
About this Guide
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Drawings
Scope and Contents note
Drawings are arranged by subject and location, when known. Drawings larger than 6 x 8 3/4 inches are housed separately, listed as Oversize drawings. The series contains work in graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, pen and ink, pastel and watercolor and includes portraits of soldiers, depictions of their daily lives, as well as images of the towns and countryside they passed through in North Africa and Italy. Brown drew his fellow soldiers constantly, sketching them working, traveling, eating, playing cards, drinking, fighting and sleeping. The series contains a large number of sketches aboard a transport ship, showing the cramped quarters that the soldiers endured while at sea. Brown also sketched injured soldiers being treated both in an unidentified hospital and aboard the hospital ship Arcadia. Images of soldiers in North Africa include a small painting of a patisserie in Sidi Bel Abbes. Two children peer in the bakery window while soldiers loiter out front. Brown drew several images of soldiers at play that are especially evocative. He labeled these images with titles like "Hot Dice" and "Jumpin' Jive." "Naples Bout," a small pen and ink sketch, shows a lively group of soldiers watching a boxing match.
Civilians, undated
Soldiers - Miscellaneous, 1945, undated
Soldiers - Italy, 1944, undated
Soldiers - North Africa, 1944, undated
Soldiers - Asleep, 1944, undated
Soldiers - Injured/In the hospital, 1944, undated
Soldiers - Injured/In the hospital - Hospital Ship Acadia, 1945
Soldiers - In the field, 1944, undated
Soldiers - Portraits, 1944, undated
Soldiers - Recreation, 1943-1944, undated
Soldiers - Recreation - Italy, undated
Soldiers - Shipboard, 1943-1944
Landscapes, Seascapes and Genre Scenes, 1944-1945, undated
Landscapes and Genre Scenes - Italy, 1944
Landscapes - United States, 1943
Still Lifes and Studies, 1943, undated
Still Lifes and Studies - Italy, 1944, undated
Studies - North Africa, 1943
Subseries I.A: Oversize Drawings
Scope and Contents note
Oversize drawings range from 6 x 9 inches to 8 x 10 1/2 inches in size and contain work in graphite, pen and ink, pastel, watercolor and acrylic. Included are several North African and Italian landscapes, drawings and paintings of soldiers at work and at play and a number of layouts. One particularly interesting piece, done in acrylic, shows soldiers peering in a bar window. Soldiers inside can be seen drinking and socializing. Layouts include a poem by Elma Dean paired with a sketch of two soldiers; a cautionary drawing of cigarettes and the statement "A Dead Give Away"; and several pages showing sketches and boxes blocked out for text.
Soldiers - Italy, 1944
Soldiers - Recreation, undated
Landscapes - Italy, 1944
Landscapes - North Africa, 1943
Layouts, undated
Series II: Sketchbooks
Scope and Contents note
This series contains two spiral bound sketchbooks filled with graphite, charcoal and pen and ink drawings. The smaller book, approximately 4 x 5 inches in size, has drawings Brown created in Italy in 1944. These sketches illustrate the soldiers' daily lives; reading, playing cards and standing guard. A few landscapes and character studies are included.
The larger book, approximately 6 x 9 inches in size, also contains graphite and pen and ink sketches done in Italy in 1944. These sketches show soldiers digging trenches, laying wire, bathing and sleeping. Many are captioned with short descriptions of the scenes. One sketch shows men bathing in a well with a caption that describes the excitement of bathing in cold water under the warm sun. Another image simply labeled "Street of Fear," depicts a dark, rubble filled walkway in an unidentified city. This sketchbook also contains several portraits of Brown's fellow soldiers along with some description of their quirky personalities.
Small & large sketchbooks, 1944
Series III: Album
Scope and Contents Note
Album of photographs taken by Ben Brown when he was in the military in WWII. Includes two clippings, one regarding Brown and his drawings. Album has been disbound.