Jim Brewton (1930-1967) |
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Chronology
1930
Nov. 4: James ("Jim") Edward Brewton born at 8 p.m. to Bryant Young ("B.Y.") Brewton, 30, a superintendent at Benoline Oil Co., and Helen Ruth (née Nelson), 32, in Toledo, Ohio.
The Brewtons live at 2551 Oak Grove Place with their three children: Joan (1928-2007), Jim, and William ("Bill," d. 2002).
The Brewtons live at 2551 Oak Grove Place with their three children: Joan (1928-2007), Jim, and William ("Bill," d. 2002).
Jim, Helen holding Bill, and Joan Brewton, ca. 1936.
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Undated photograph of Jim
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Bill and Jim
Bill, Joan, and Jim Brewton
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1940s
Attends one year of high school at J.W. Scott in Toledo, Ohio; he apparently drops out.
Studies drawing for two years on scholarship at Toledo Museum of Art and oil painting for one year with John Charvet, Geneva, Illinois.
Studies drawing for two years on scholarship at Toledo Museum of Art and oil painting for one year with John Charvet, Geneva, Illinois.
Scott High School in 1976
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Toledo Museum of Art, ca. 1930-1945
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1951
Aug. 6: Enlists in U.S. Marine Corps at a Chicago recruiting office.
Takes infantry and “cold weather staging” training at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, Calif.
1952
March 22: Ships to Korea, from San Diego on USNS General William Weigel with 1st Marine Engineering Battalion, FMF
April 10: Arrives Inchon, Korea
July 31: Promoted to corporal
Stationed in South and Central Korea from April 1952 through April 1953. Earns three medals, at least one of which Jim incorporates into Ubu's Military Mind in 1962.
April 10: Arrives Inchon, Korea
July 31: Promoted to corporal
Stationed in South and Central Korea from April 1952 through April 1953. Earns three medals, at least one of which Jim incorporates into Ubu's Military Mind in 1962.
Jim's U.S.M.C. induction photograph, Aug. 17, 1951.
Jim (center) in Korea.
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James E. Brewton. "Ubu's Military Mind." 1962, metal and mixed media construction, 35" x 14". Gift to the James E. Brewton Foundation in 2020 from Jason Broede, Carol Broede, and Eric Olson. Photo: Elena Bouvier.
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1953
April 6: Leaves Korea on USNS General Gordon
April 20: Arrives in San Francisco
July 31: Promoted to sergeant. Serves in USMC reserves until August 1959.
April 20: Arrives in San Francisco
July 31: Promoted to sergeant. Serves in USMC reserves until August 1959.
Jim disembarks in San Francisco on April 20, 1953.
1954
Stationed at Naval Weapons Station Earle in northern New Jersey.
April 21: Sends letter applying to Ruskin School, Oxford, England, enclosing three charcoal drawings.
April 26: Acceptance at Ruskin School.
June 21: Begins studies at Ruskin on the G.I. Bill. Jim's address in Oxford is 106 Abingdon Road, then the boarding house of Mrs. A E Marshall. Lists home address as 6 North Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois.
Writer John Updike is a fellow student; Jim appears as one of "four other resentful American veterans" in Updike's short story, "Still-Life," published in The New Yorker on January 24, 1959.
April 21: Sends letter applying to Ruskin School, Oxford, England, enclosing three charcoal drawings.
April 26: Acceptance at Ruskin School.
June 21: Begins studies at Ruskin on the G.I. Bill. Jim's address in Oxford is 106 Abingdon Road, then the boarding house of Mrs. A E Marshall. Lists home address as 6 North Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois.
Writer John Updike is a fellow student; Jim appears as one of "four other resentful American veterans" in Updike's short story, "Still-Life," published in The New Yorker on January 24, 1959.
Brewton's Oxford identification card, 1954
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While attending Ruskin School in Oxford, Jim gave his home address as 6 North Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois. It is part of a public golf course that opened in 1939.
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Joan Brewton marries Eugene ("Cam") McCamly Belknap; they begin married life in Philadelphia.
Dec. 11: Death of Jim's father, B.Y. Brewton.
The Belknaps later move to Moorestown, New Jersey, with their three children: Lisa, Eugene III ("Gene"), and Bryant. Helen Brewton joins them.
Dec. 11: Death of Jim's father, B.Y. Brewton.
The Belknaps later move to Moorestown, New Jersey, with their three children: Lisa, Eugene III ("Gene"), and Bryant. Helen Brewton joins them.
James E. Brewton. Unfinished portrait of Gene, Lisa, and Bryant Belknap. ca. 1967, private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Mother As A Little Girl." ca. 1958, private collection.
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1955
June: Withdraws from Ruskin and applies to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA); gives address as 2411 Spruce Street, Philadelphia.
July 26: Admitted to PAFA. Mentors include instructors Franklin Watkins, whose influence is felt in Jim's religious-themed paintings; Hobson Pittman, whose subdued palette is echoed in Jim's The Garden (1957); and Theodor ("Ted") Siegl, who offers Jim an apprenticeship in the conservation department.
Becomes close friends with fellow students Dan Miller (b. 1928) and Joseph Amarotico (1931-1985), as well as Morel ("Mo") Pagano (1929-2016); Mo and Joe were also combat veterans. Jim is unable to tolerate the chemicals in the conservation department and Joe Amarotico replaces him, becoming a renowned paintings restorer, Surrealist painter, and teacher at PAFA. Dan Miller began teaching at PAFA in 1964 and continues to do so, having served as Dean of Faculty, Acting Dean of the School, Chairman of the Painting Department, and Chair of the MFA Program.
July 26: Admitted to PAFA. Mentors include instructors Franklin Watkins, whose influence is felt in Jim's religious-themed paintings; Hobson Pittman, whose subdued palette is echoed in Jim's The Garden (1957); and Theodor ("Ted") Siegl, who offers Jim an apprenticeship in the conservation department.
Becomes close friends with fellow students Dan Miller (b. 1928) and Joseph Amarotico (1931-1985), as well as Morel ("Mo") Pagano (1929-2016); Mo and Joe were also combat veterans. Jim is unable to tolerate the chemicals in the conservation department and Joe Amarotico replaces him, becoming a renowned paintings restorer, Surrealist painter, and teacher at PAFA. Dan Miller began teaching at PAFA in 1964 and continues to do so, having served as Dean of Faculty, Acting Dean of the School, Chairman of the Painting Department, and Chair of the MFA Program.
Joseph Amarotico. Untitled. n.d., oils on canvas, collection of Emily Brewton Schilling.
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Click to view a 2014 film by John Thornton: "An Afternoon with Dan Miller, the Reward of Art."
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Works at The Print Club (now Print Center), where he sees the work of CoBrA artists Karel Appel and Asger Jorn. He is also a regular visiting student at the Barnes Foundation.
Surrealism, as expressed by André Breton and Marcel Duchamp, is a strong and pervasive theme in Jim's work. However, Alfred Jarry's writings and imaginary science of 'Pataphysics ignite Jim's artistic practice. Interest in Jarry's work is unusual in an American artist in the early 1960s, and it's possible he encountered Jarry's writings while a student in England. Two rare French 'Pataphysics books were found among Jim's things in 2008 (they are now in the James Brewton Archive, University of Pennsylvania's Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts). Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean Dubuffet also inspire Jim.
Exact year unknown: marries PAFA student Barbara Fisher; they soon separate.
Surrealism, as expressed by André Breton and Marcel Duchamp, is a strong and pervasive theme in Jim's work. However, Alfred Jarry's writings and imaginary science of 'Pataphysics ignite Jim's artistic practice. Interest in Jarry's work is unusual in an American artist in the early 1960s, and it's possible he encountered Jarry's writings while a student in England. Two rare French 'Pataphysics books were found among Jim's things in 2008 (they are now in the James Brewton Archive, University of Pennsylvania's Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts). Cy Twombly, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean Dubuffet also inspire Jim.
Exact year unknown: marries PAFA student Barbara Fisher; they soon separate.
James E. Brewton. "Homage to Alfred Jarry." The painting is missing.
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'Pataphysics book found among Jim's possessions in 2008
'Pataphysics book found among Jim's possessions in 2008
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Poster for Jasper Johns exhibition at The Jewish Museum, New York, found among Jim's things.
Jim possessed several signed posters for a Cy Twombly exhibition in 1964 at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York.
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1957
May 21 - Sept. 16: Group show, 26th Annual Exhibition of Young Philadelphia Artists, Friends' Central School, Philadelphia (purchase, The Garden). Dan Miller and Peter Paone are among the eleven artists whose work is in the exhibit.
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James E. Brewton. "The Garden." 1957, oils on canvas.
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1958
Jan. 24 - March 1: Group show, 154th Annual Exhibition of Water Colors, Prints, and Drawings, PAFA, Philadelphia (Philadelphia Water Color Prize, for The Deposition).
James E. Brewton. Title unknown. 1958, oils on canvas, 26" x 32". Won 1958 Special Travel Award from PAFA. (From a color slide date-stamped July 1959; the painting itself is missing.)
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Jim's "Suicide of Judas" on the cover of "Art in Focus," February 1960.
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James E. Brewton. "The Deposition" 1959, tempera on wood panel, 48.5" x 48.5", winner of J. Henry Schiedt Memorial Prize, among other awards, private collection. Photo: Elena Bouvier.
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Wins Special Travel Award, PAFA; letter in July confirming his travel booking is sent to 269 Van Pelt Street, Philadelphia.
Sept. 23: Sails on Cunard's Mauretania to Southampton, U.K. Jim’s home address is given as 1015 Cherry Street, Philadelphia.
Paints portraits of artists, writers, and musicians - as did several PAFA students at the time - in 1958 through 1960, including Amedeo Modigliani, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Rimbaud, Jean Cocteau, Alban Berg, and Charles Baudelaire.
Sept. 23: Sails on Cunard's Mauretania to Southampton, U.K. Jim’s home address is given as 1015 Cherry Street, Philadelphia.
Paints portraits of artists, writers, and musicians - as did several PAFA students at the time - in 1958 through 1960, including Amedeo Modigliani, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Rimbaud, Jean Cocteau, Alban Berg, and Charles Baudelaire.
James Brewton. "Homage to Modi." n.d., oils or tempera on panel, 25" x 25.5". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. Untitled. (Portrait of Charles Baudelaire), n.d., private collection.
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James Brewton. Untitled (portrait of Edgar Allan Poe). n.d., oils on canvas, 19.5" x 24". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Une Saison en Enfer" (portrait of Arthur Rimbaud). ca. 1959, private collection.
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1959
March 11: Sails back to U.S. on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth.
The Deposition wins Watercolor Prize and Honorable Mention, Wilmington Society of Fine Arts.
Nov. 7 - Dec. 6: Hobson Pittman shows Jim’s self-portrait in Private Collections of Fourteen Philadelphia Artists, PAFA.
Nov. 24: 155th Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting and Sculpture, co-curated by PAFA and the Detroit Institute of Arts, opens in Detroit (through Jan. 3, 1960; then travels to Philadelphia). PAFA purchases The Suicide of Judas, described in Jim’s hand as being tempera, oil and charcoal. Lists his home address as 1026 Locust Street, Philadelphia.
The Deposition wins Watercolor Prize and Honorable Mention, Wilmington Society of Fine Arts.
Nov. 7 - Dec. 6: Hobson Pittman shows Jim’s self-portrait in Private Collections of Fourteen Philadelphia Artists, PAFA.
Nov. 24: 155th Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting and Sculpture, co-curated by PAFA and the Detroit Institute of Arts, opens in Detroit (through Jan. 3, 1960; then travels to Philadelphia). PAFA purchases The Suicide of Judas, described in Jim’s hand as being tempera, oil and charcoal. Lists his home address as 1026 Locust Street, Philadelphia.
March 29, 1961: Hobson Pittman poses for Philadelphia's Evening Bulletin with his self-portrait by Jim Brewton
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After Pittman's death in 1972, the self-portrait disappeared. Emily found a faded 8" x 7" photograph of the painting in 2008.
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In 2013 it came to light, thanks to librarians and curators at Bryn Mawr College. The painting had been purchased at auction years earlier by Philadelphia conservator Carole Abercauph, who very generously gave the picture to Emily.
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1960
Jan. 24 - Feb. 28: 155th Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting and Sculpture on display in Philadelphia, curated by PAFA in collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Arts (J. Henry Schiedt Memorial Prize for The Suicide of Judas).
1961
Meets Barbara Holland, a writer. They begin an affair that lasts on and off until 1964. In addition to Dan Miller and Joe Amarotico, Jim's circle of friends includes Ronald and Patricia Weingrad; Barry and Marianne Promos; Elizabeth Osborne and her brother, Philip; Bruce Broede and his wife, Carol (now Carol Olson); Claire Van Vliet; and Jim McWilliams. Through Van Vliet, Jim meets Danish artist Erik Nyholm, who is in Philadelphia for an exhibition of his ceramics at Makler Gallery, January 1962.
James E. Brewton. Untitled portrait of Barbara Holland. ca. 1961, oils on Masonite, 36" x 34". Private collection. Photo: Elena Bouvier.
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James E. Brewton. Portrait of Patti (Weingrad). 1965, oils on canvas, 19.5" x 17.5". Private collection.
James E. Brewton. Portrait of Marianne (Promos). 1965, oils. Private collection. Photo: Vera Carbo.
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James E. Brewton. Portrait of Ronald (Weingrad). 1966, oils, 14.75" x 10.75". Private collection.
James E. Brewton. Portrait of Barry (Promos). 1966, oils. Private collection. Photo: Vera Carbo.
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1962
Travels with Barbara to Denmark, along with Claire Van Vliet. Barbara is pregnant; she and Jim rent a place in Funder, near Erik Nyholm’s farm in Silkeborg. Daughter, Emily, born Sept. 10. Jim meets Asger Jorn, whose genius, admiration for Jarry's 'Pataphysics, and interest in graffiti leads to a sustained dialogue through art. Jim's painting takes on the wildly colorful exuberance of the CoBrA artists.
James E. Brewton. "Self-Portrait - An Aspect of Myself." 1962, oils on canvas, 16" x 18". Private collection.
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James E. Brewton. "Ubu Roi," a.k.a. "Ubu Becomes King." 1962, oils on linen, 45.5" x 35.5".
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James E. Brewton. "Three Tree Sun Fun." 1962-63, oils on panel, 14" x 17". Private collection.
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Jim, Barbara, Claire Van Vliet and Erik Nyholm make local headlines in the "Aarhus Stiftstidende Sondag," July 15, 1962.
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Jim in Denmark with his portrait of the "triumviratet," three Silkeborg officials who supported Asger Jorn's Comparative Vandalism project. This painting is missing.
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James E. Brewton. "Asger Jorn, pour tous les hommes." 1964, oils on canvas, 50" x 30", private collection. Photo: Vera Carbo.
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Jim at Barbara Holland's mother's cabin in Bluemont, Virginia
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Post card from Jim to Joe Amarotico announcing Emily's birth
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Barbara Holland and Jim (holding Emily) at a neighbor's pond in Bluemont, Virginia, in 1963.
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1963
Returns to Philadelphia.
May 1 - 31: Solo exhibition, James Brewton: oils, graphics and ceramics, Makler Gallery, 1634 Latimer St., Philadelphia.
May 1 - 31: Solo exhibition, James Brewton: oils, graphics and ceramics, Makler Gallery, 1634 Latimer St., Philadelphia.
Makler Gallery labels found among Jim's ephemera in 2008
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Jim in December 1963 with two missing paintings in the background; the one over the couch is Jim's portrait of Rudolf Serkin.
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List of works from "Asger Jorn's Graphic Work," Jan. 8 - Feb. 9, 1964, at Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jim lent three pieces to the show.
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1964
Jan. 6: Divorce from Barbara Fisher is finalized.
Jan. 8 - Feb. 9: Lends artworks to show of Asger Jorn's graphic work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Breakup of relationship with Barbara Holland.
Begins productive period of "Graffiti Pataphysic" paintings. From his colorful, CoBrA-inspired phase, Brewton progresses to muted, wall-like dream pieces. Develops his synthesis of graffiti (“anonymous and therefore for all mankind”) and Alfred Jarry’s philosophy of 'Pataphysics, calling his method of artistic exploration "Graffiti Pataphysic."
Writes, "In 1964 I founded the J.E. Brewton Institute of Comparative Vandalism for our College of Pataphysics to correspond with the Scandinavian Institute for Comparative Vandalism, Asger Jorn, Founder-Director.... We are also further investigating soap-bubble dynamics for the late C.V. Boys, rules of vertical stance, how to affirme and deny a wall or canvas, reductions and four-legged tripods." (Artist's Statement, Graffiti Pataphysic, Kenmore Galleries solo exhibition, 3 Feb.-17 Feb. 1965.)
Shows Letter to My Daughter in Regional Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints, and Drawings.
Jan. 8 - Feb. 9: Lends artworks to show of Asger Jorn's graphic work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Breakup of relationship with Barbara Holland.
Begins productive period of "Graffiti Pataphysic" paintings. From his colorful, CoBrA-inspired phase, Brewton progresses to muted, wall-like dream pieces. Develops his synthesis of graffiti (“anonymous and therefore for all mankind”) and Alfred Jarry’s philosophy of 'Pataphysics, calling his method of artistic exploration "Graffiti Pataphysic."
Writes, "In 1964 I founded the J.E. Brewton Institute of Comparative Vandalism for our College of Pataphysics to correspond with the Scandinavian Institute for Comparative Vandalism, Asger Jorn, Founder-Director.... We are also further investigating soap-bubble dynamics for the late C.V. Boys, rules of vertical stance, how to affirme and deny a wall or canvas, reductions and four-legged tripods." (Artist's Statement, Graffiti Pataphysic, Kenmore Galleries solo exhibition, 3 Feb.-17 Feb. 1965.)
Shows Letter to My Daughter in Regional Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints, and Drawings.
Invitation to a PAFA show in 1965, artified by Jim Brewton
1965
Feb. 3 - 17: Solo exhibition, Graffiti Pataphysic, Kenmore Galleries, 122 S. 18th Street, Philadelphia. Harry Kulkowitz, owner/director of Kenmore Galleries, represents Jim and displays his work regularly. Andy Warhol, in town for his ground-breaking show at the Institute for Contemporary Art, notices The Pataphysics Times in Kenmore's window, and leaves an invitation to the ICA opening "for The Pataphysics Times artist."
Spring: Travels to Denmark, helps Asger Jorn and Erik Nyholm prepare an exhibition and set up Jorn's "Comparative Vandalism" project files in the new Silkeborg Kunstmuseum. Possibly meets Jean Dubuffet in Silkeborg. During a residency at Aage Damgaard's Angli shirt factory (Damgaard later opens the Herning Kunstmuseum on the site), Jim paints many of the works displayed in his show at Galerie AP in Copenhagen. From correspondence with Nyholm, it appears that Jim returns to Philadelphia before the AP Galerie show opens.
May 12 - 26: Solo exhibition, The American Dream-Girl: Graffiti Pataphysic, Galerie AP, NY Adelgade 4, Copenhagen.
Spring: Travels to Denmark, helps Asger Jorn and Erik Nyholm prepare an exhibition and set up Jorn's "Comparative Vandalism" project files in the new Silkeborg Kunstmuseum. Possibly meets Jean Dubuffet in Silkeborg. During a residency at Aage Damgaard's Angli shirt factory (Damgaard later opens the Herning Kunstmuseum on the site), Jim paints many of the works displayed in his show at Galerie AP in Copenhagen. From correspondence with Nyholm, it appears that Jim returns to Philadelphia before the AP Galerie show opens.
May 12 - 26: Solo exhibition, The American Dream-Girl: Graffiti Pataphysic, Galerie AP, NY Adelgade 4, Copenhagen.
Jim, an unidentified man, and Erik Nyholm in Denmark, 1965
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James E. Brewton. "Letter to My Daughter." 1964, mixed media on canvas, 45" x 57.5".
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Jim likely attended the opening of Asger Jorn's exhibition at the Louisiana museum of modern art in Humlebaek, DK, in February 1965. (Found Jim's train ticket stubs among his things in 2008.)
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Erik Nyholm, Asger Jorn and Jim Brewton, 1965. Nyholm carries a work by Brewton. From the film, "Three Researchers, One Asger Jorn," by Denmark's Statens Museum for Kunst and Museum Jorn, 2014.
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This little sketch by Asger Jorn, on the back of a letter, is the only artwork by Jorn found among Jim's possessions. Jim also had a painting and some prints, but sold them.
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1966
May 6: Marriage of Barbara Holland and Mark Schilling.
May 26: Passport issued for Jim and Emily, which the two of them later vandalize (or "artify").
November: Proposes to Vera Carbo and paints a celebratory portrait.
May 26: Passport issued for Jim and Emily, which the two of them later vandalize (or "artify").
November: Proposes to Vera Carbo and paints a celebratory portrait.
Passport for Jim and Emily issued May 26, 1966. It appears to have been "artified" by both Emily (blue scrawls) and Jim (ink stamps).
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James E. Brewton. Untitled ("To Vera, engaged, 11-27-1966" written on front). Private collection. Photo: Vera Carbo.
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1967
Feb. 3: Marries Anne Marie (“Nanie”) Lafitte McBride; they live at 718 Pemberton Street, Philadelphia. Schemes to leave the country with Nanie, her sons, and Emily. His sister, Joan, alerts Barbara Holland, who begins process for Mark Schilling to legally adopt Emily.
April 21: Birth of Barbara and Mark Schilling’s twin boys, Matthew and Benjamin.
May 1: Death of Helen Brewton, Jim's mother.
May 4: Adoption of Emily by Mark Schilling is finalized.
May 11: Jim shoots himself in Nanie’s house, 4:35 p.m.
May 15: Midnight opening of group show at the Socrates Perakis Art Gallery; artists are Brewton, Jim McWilliams, Thomas Chimes and sculptor Paul Anthony Greenwood.
April 21: Birth of Barbara and Mark Schilling’s twin boys, Matthew and Benjamin.
May 1: Death of Helen Brewton, Jim's mother.
May 4: Adoption of Emily by Mark Schilling is finalized.
May 11: Jim shoots himself in Nanie’s house, 4:35 p.m.
May 15: Midnight opening of group show at the Socrates Perakis Art Gallery; artists are Brewton, Jim McWilliams, Thomas Chimes and sculptor Paul Anthony Greenwood.
By the time he died in 1967, Brewton had “had several one-man shows, and museum curators were beginning to exhibit interest,” as Nessa Forman wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer. “There was an artist,” Forman continued, “who was ahead of his time, who was brilliant, sensitive and nonviolent, who loved his art and just wanted to paint.”
Nanie Lafitte McBride Brewton, in an undated photograph
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Poster designed by Jim McWilliams for show at Socrates Perakis Gallery, 15 May-7 June, 1967. Photo: Elena Bouvier
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Jim at work (undated photo)
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Legacy
1968
Memorial show at the Peale Galleries at PAFA, March 7 through April 14, with Robert Rauschenberg works.
1971
Memorial show at the Kenmore Galleries, curated by Harry Kulkowitz and Patricia Weingrad. Proceeds from artwork sales are given to The James Edward Brewton Memorial Fund at PAFA, and Jim’s collection of art books is donated to the PAFA library.
1978
Barbara Holland Schilling puts Letter to My Daughter out for the trash while Emily is away at boarding school.
2002
May 20: Death of Bill Y. Brewton, Jim's brother.
2007
April 15: Death of Joan Brewton Belknap, Jim's sister.
2008
Emily forms nonprofit James E. Brewton Foundation, Inc., with her husband and Patricia and Ronald Weingrad. Begins hunting for Jim's artworks and researching his life.
2010
Sept. 7: Death of Barbara Holland.
2012
May 12 - July 15: Brewton's Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe is shown in Haunting Narratives: Detours from Philadelphia Realism, 1935 to the present, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia.
2014
March 21 - May 1: Brewton's first solo show since 1971, Graffiti Pataphysic, for all mankind, held at Slought, 4017 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
2020
Jan. 21 - April 4: The Pataphysics Times shown in Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular avant-garde, curated by Sid Sachs, director of exhibitions, University of the Arts, Philadelphia. The exhibition takes place in four venues; The Pataphysics Times is shown at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, adjacent to Jim McWilliams's poster for their 1967 show together.
Memorial show at the Peale Galleries at PAFA, March 7 through April 14, with Robert Rauschenberg works.
1971
Memorial show at the Kenmore Galleries, curated by Harry Kulkowitz and Patricia Weingrad. Proceeds from artwork sales are given to The James Edward Brewton Memorial Fund at PAFA, and Jim’s collection of art books is donated to the PAFA library.
1978
Barbara Holland Schilling puts Letter to My Daughter out for the trash while Emily is away at boarding school.
2002
May 20: Death of Bill Y. Brewton, Jim's brother.
2007
April 15: Death of Joan Brewton Belknap, Jim's sister.
2008
Emily forms nonprofit James E. Brewton Foundation, Inc., with her husband and Patricia and Ronald Weingrad. Begins hunting for Jim's artworks and researching his life.
2010
Sept. 7: Death of Barbara Holland.
2012
May 12 - July 15: Brewton's Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe is shown in Haunting Narratives: Detours from Philadelphia Realism, 1935 to the present, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia.
2014
March 21 - May 1: Brewton's first solo show since 1971, Graffiti Pataphysic, for all mankind, held at Slought, 4017 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
2020
Jan. 21 - April 4: The Pataphysics Times shown in Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular avant-garde, curated by Sid Sachs, director of exhibitions, University of the Arts, Philadelphia. The exhibition takes place in four venues; The Pataphysics Times is shown at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, adjacent to Jim McWilliams's poster for their 1967 show together.
"The Pataphysics Times" seen from the steps outside of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, January 2020.
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Installation view at the Art Alliance: Jim McWilliams's poster for a group show with Brewton in 1967, Brewton's "The Pataphysics Times," with works by The Philadelphia Wireman in the foreground. Photo: John Heon.
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