Jules David Prown research material on artists, 1935-2018, bulk 1958-1975

Notes primarily consist of notecards which Prown grouped by subject. Notecards often include attached photographs, printed material, correspondence, and artwork information sheets. Prown filed his notes separately from his other research files, but topics such as attribution, portrait sitters, and other subject files often overlap and all sets of material should be consulted. Also of interest is a set of notes regarding the computer analysis of sitters of John Singleton Copley. Included are detailed biographical forms for each sitter and lists of codes and cross references used for Prown's computer analysis.

Subject files include draft writings, correspondence, printed material, photographs, notes, and draft writings. Topics include biographical information on Copley, technique and materials, specific works of art such as Watson and the Shark, and painting themes. Subject files are closely related to the notes found in subseries 1.1.

Found here is correspondence primarily documenting the period during the 1960s that Prown was researching his dissertation and subsequent book on John Singleton Copley. Correspondence is with art collectors, universities, museums, and libraries regarding Copley's works, fact checking, and requests for photographs and permission to publish. Letters are arranged alphabetically by name or location.

Portrait files contain correspondence regarding specific portraits by Copley and often include attached photographs and printed material. Letters discuss provenance, date of the works, biographical information on sitters, and requests to look at the works in person. Documents are arranged alphabetically by name of sitter. Related notes on sitters, including Prown's computer analysis of sitters, can be found in Subseries 1.1 and correspondence regarding portraits with questionable attribution can be found in Subseries 1.5.

Attribution files primarily consist of correspondence asking for Prown's expertise on attributing works to John Singleton Copley. Letters often include provenance details and attached photographs and related printed material. Documents were grouped by Prown according to attribution status and within those groupings are arranged alphabetically by sitter. Additional notes on attribution can be found in Subseries 1.1.

Photographs of artwork include copyprints of works by Copley from various museums and art collections. Some photographs include detailed annotations on the verso. Most photographs are arranged alphabetically by sitter or grouped by theme. Miscellaneous photographs found here are unsorted copyprints of works by Copley. Researchers should note that many additional photographs can be found attached to correspondence and notes within the other series in this collection.