Brown - "Lemon, Glass and Knife" Realistic oil painting of lemons, a glass, knife, plate and napkins on a table

Carlyle Brown • American: 1919-1963

Lemon, Glass and Knife C: 1957 • Oil on Linen 15” x 21 5/8”

The simple stone slabs bearing Christian crosses lie in Campo Cestio cemetery in Rome. Carlyle Brown and Margery Hulett traveled a road lined with Fools Gold to get there. They were a glittering couple on the international party circuit. His rare painting talent and her aristocratic beauty helped them conquer high society until the day he strayed to another man and it all crashed to the ground.

Travel back to the war years: While other sailors wrote letters home, Carlyle Brown struck up an intense correspondence with Russian painter Pavel Tchelitchew who immigrated to America just before the war began. After war’s end Brown came to New York where he dove into the art scene headfirst. He immersed himself in Tchelitchew’s circle of sophisticated friends, including musician Leonard Bernstein, poet W.H. Auden and painters Corrado Cagli and Morris Graves. It was a glittering gathering of talent that mixed well with New York’s well-heeled philanthropists to form what became known as Café Society.

In New York, Brown reconnected with Margery Hulett whom he’d met while recruiting for the Navy in Indiana. She had become a Vogue fashion model.

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Many leading fashionistas of the day commissioned Brown’s portraits done in a modern style, and Margery was featured in one of Cecil Beaton’s most famous photographs showing elegant women dressed in lush Charles James gowns. Eccentric British art collector, Edward James (no relation to Charles), attended their 1947 wedding and invited them to spend six months at West Dean Park, his luxurious English estate. There Carlyle Brown thrilled to find paints and palette left behind by famed surrealist, Salvador Dali. Brown’s later work saw him dabbling in some surrealistic imagery.

Brown and Hulett eventually moving to Rome where Brown joined a community of artists including his New York pal, poet W.H. Auden. While in Rome he painted Lemons On A Shelf. He also began painting local scenes and subjects including a Roman laborer who became one of his favorite lovers.

Divorce from Margery soon followed and by the early 1960s, Carlyle Brown was in a sorry state, dying from an overdose of drugs and alcohol in 1963. Only 44 years old, he left a beautiful corpse. Margery remarried and raised four other sons. But when she died in 2000, she was laid to rest in Campo Cestio between her son Christopher Brown and the man who brought her to the heights of Café Society … Carlyle Brown.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Gift from Mr. George H. Deuble, Jr. 66.6

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“Some of his later works bordered on Surrealism and he once used a studio frequently used by Salvador Dali.”

2.
“Brown and his fashion model wife were part of a glittering group of sophisticates known as Café Society in the late 1940s. Think of them as the Steamer-set that became the Jet-set.”

3.
“He was never really trained as a fine artist. Instead he attended a small San Francisco school specializing in color and interior design.”

4.
“He died young and left a beautiful corpse. Pills and alcohol did the trick. A sad end to a glittering life.”

Brown Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1919

Born in Los Angeles. His father was a “merchandise broker” named Eugene Montgomery Brown. His mother was named Goldie. The family included an older daughter, Fanchon.

1937

Graduated from Glendale High School in Glendale.

1938-40

Attended Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco. This is a small school started by modern artist Rudolph Schaeffer and dedicated to teaching his theories of color and interior design. Rudolph Schaeffer is credited with selecting the stunning paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge.

1942-45

Served in the U.S. Navy. During his tour of duty he sent fan letters to Russian painter, Pavel Tchelitchew who immigrated to New York before the war.

1945

Toward the end of his enlistment the Navy sent him on a recruiting trip to Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. There he met Margery Hulett, a drama student and beauty pageant winner, having recently been named Arbutus Queen.

1946

With the war over, Tchelitchew invited Brown to live in New York City. He became totally immersed in the modern art scene and joined the circle of artists, poets and photographers surrounding Tchelitchew. He again met Margery Hulett who was, by then, a Vogue fashion model. In this famous photo by Cecil Beaton, Margery is in the upper middle, adjusting her hair in the mirror.

1947

Brown and Hulett married in a glittering high society wedding. Among the guests are Cecil Beaton and eccentric British art collector Edward James. James invited the couple to visit him at his palatial estate, West Dean Park in Sussex. The couple stayed for 6 months inhabiting the wing and studio once used by Salvador Dali.

1949

Carlyle and Margery relocated to Rome after summering on the Italian island of Ischia, known as the Island of Regeneration. In Rome they connected with a cosmopolitan group of artists and writers. Some had been part of their New York social circle. He began to experiment with flattened surfaces and modern compositions.

1950

This was the first year of an almost yearly participation in both solo and group art exhibitions in the United States. The Catherine Viviano Gallery was especially active in showing and selling his work. His art drifted away from the portraits he had become well-known for and focused more on paintings of everyday objects such as Lemons on a Shelf.

1954

Son Christopher was born. This was also the year of his first solo exhibit in Italy at the famous Galleria Dell’Obelisco. His mature style walked a narrow line between realism, cubism, and surrealism.

Late 1950s

The marriage between Carlyle and Margery broke apart due to his homosexual romances. He was especially tied to a Roman laborer who was the subject of many of his later paintings. Though still only in his late 30s his life began a downward spiral.

1963

His last show was held at Charles Moses’ Galleria 88 in Via Margutta. In December he died in Rome from an overdose of pills and alcohol, although it is not clear if he intended suicide.

1964 and 1965

Posthumous shows are held at the Banfer Gallery in New York City.