Frederick J Brown 1945-2012

Painter of Musicians, Dies at 67
Frederick J. Brown, an American artist who explored the relationship between music and painting in portraits of hundreds of jazz and blues artists, died on May 5 at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 67.

Sunday, May 06 2012

I am truly saddened that I won't be seeing Frederick again, he will be dearly missed. The times we spent at the Churchill Hotel while working on the "Clown Portfolio" at Coriander Studio in London were just unforgettable. The occasion was the production of the commissioned Portfolio of prints which was dedicated to his daughter Sebastian who as a child was suffering from Asthma.

Two recognized stimuli of a child are art and the circus, and the most personally identifiable symbol of the wonder and laughter of the circus is the clown..

This principal was dramatically understood by Frederick Brown through the direct experience of Sebastian's illness. As a result of this inspiration, we collaborated to bring Brown's unique series of works on clowns into the environment where they are most needed: children's hospitals.

With the aim to place these vibrant child inspired pieces into hospitals in order to aid in the convalescence of young minds and bodies.
Frederick explained --To adults the clown is a complex image with meanings ranging from sad to happy, ominous to joyous, and tragic to comic. It is an image that conjures up the doomed jesters of Goya, the elegant harlequins of Picasso and the masked death figures of Ensor.

Children, however, know nothing of the historical and artistic references in this image and see only fun and laughter associated with their experience of the clown and the circus. Into a world of pain, unfamiliarity and boredom, is injected an image that conspires with the child to overcome the anxiety of the moment through imaginative transportation into another world more familiar and far more pleasurable

Frederick Brown's experiences from his travels abroad and in the United States, combined with his interest in jazz, blues and African and Native American culture collectively produced an artist of contemporary painting.

Brown grew up in Chicago, where his father brought home blues stars like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy. Whenever Brown paints, his studio is awash with music. This helps propel him, shaman-like, into the zone where the spirits of his subjects speak, take shape in color and light and shadow and dance onto the canvas in vivid, unexpected, provocative renditions.

His paintings at the start of his career in the 1970's were large, bold abstractions; the themes of music, urban life and religious spirituality constant in his work. In their muscular brushwork, bold Afro-Caribbean colors, and mythological resonance, his expressive figural paintings refract two mentors: Willem De Kooning and Romare Bearden. These, along with Goya, Velasquez, Giotto, and Duccio help shape Brown’s ongoing focus.

Brown rose dramatically to a new level in the contemporary art world. His works are in the permanent collections of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Art at the Smithsonian Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Museum of American Art, the White House, and numerous other public and private collections.

In 2005, we also commissioned a series of six images shown above and entitled, "Portraits of Excellence". The results are stunning, for Brown ensnares spirits in his portraits. The "windows of the soul" haunt viewers, open into depths, follow as they move. Each work distills Brown’s multifaceted study of its subject—what he calls "putting my microscope on someone; the rhythm of the individual always has to be there in my work."

In jazz, the crowning achievement is finding a unique voice on your instrument, learning from the masters but learning to tell your own musical story. Brown's work flows from that.

Some sets of the "Portraits of Excellence" were donated by Cascadia for auction to the Hurricane Relief Benefit Dinner fund-raiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina and Frederick used his talents as auctioneer.
The gathering took place in 2005 on Staten Island in Bloomfield's Hilton Garden Inn to raise funds to give to the victims who couldn't reconstruct their houses.

Kids [Esteban 10, Pedro 9] meet the people instrumental in putting fund-raiser

In 2008, we partnered with MasterCard and Frederick P. Rose Hall (FPRH), home of Jazz at Lincoln Center to help Re-Establish "The Gulf Coast's Musical Heritage". Participants received a complimentary Jazz at Lincoln Center individual membership by collecting gently used musical instruments for the Steven Spring Foundation which refurbishes and supplied the used instruments to school-aged music students in New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. www.stevenspring.org

The people who donated the most used instruments to JALC received a signed and numbered, limited edition Frederick Brown print of either: Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, Johnny Hodges, Sarah Vaughan or Dexter Gordon each valued at $4,000 each and donated by Cascadia Fine Art Inc.

Artist Frederick Brown welcomes guests at the reception in Omaha

A fund raising event at the Joslyn took place during the Museum's Exhibition of Frederick Brown's "Portraits of the Music I Love" a collection of 50 exceptional paintings of jazz and blues greats from the private collection of Mr. Gerald Pearson and the Pearson Art Foundation.

The event included Cascadia's debut of newly released publications of original limited edition prints by Frederick Brown, Sir Peter Blake and Michael Sandle. The program was an opportunity for the Museum’s patrons and members to support the museum through the purchase of Cascadia's art works as proceeds benefited the Joslyn Museum. It was a successful and well received event. "Occasions to form partnerships that introduce new contemporary works for the benefit and enrichment of patrons and museums and furthering the exposure of works by contemporary artists will continue to be an integral part of Cascadia's mission" says Frans Wynans, founder and President of Cascadia Fine Art.

As a result of this fund raising initiative, the Joslyn Art Museum and Cascadia have forged a strong association with all intentions to work towards the continued success of future events and programs.

Read about Frederick Brown's Journey Through Art is a Passage Across Form and a Passing On of Legacy

We enjoyed many adventures while introducing Frederick’s work into many International and Canadian Museums.

Frans Wynans

Read about Frederick Brown's in The New York Time

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