“How do I know when I’ve finished a painting? It’s when that element of surprise is there” (Joan Brown).
Born on February 13, 1938, she was a San Francisco native. Brown studied at the California School of Fine Art and was a prominent member of the second generation Bay Area Figurative movement. In 1960, at the age of 22, Brown had her first museum show occur at the Whitney Biennial in New York, showcasing her abstract expressionist paintings. After divorcing her first husband, Bill Brown, she was married to Bay Area Figurative sculptor, Manuel Neri, from 1962 to 1966.
Brown taught introductory painting and drawing classes at the California School of Fine Arts and University of California, Berkeley. Later in her career, Brown became increasingly interested in public sculpture. On October 26, 1990, Brown travelled to India to help with the installation of one of her obelisks. Brown died along with others, when a concrete turret from the floor above collapsed while they were installing the mosaic obelisk.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.
Estate Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Artist Spotlight: Andy Warhol
Artist Spotlight
Modern + Contemporary
Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians series was one of his last major works before his death in 1987.
In 1986, Andy Warhol created the Cowboys and Indians series. In this portfolio, Warhol portrays a range of images that represent both the history and constructed lore of the American West, pulled from reality and fiction. Warhol interspersed portraits of world-famous Americans with those of anonymous Native Americans in his ironic commentary on America’s collective mythology of the historic West.
Rather than portraying Native Americans within their historical landscape, or cowboys in their veritable forms, Warhol went with a stylized and romanticized version of the American West — already a favored lens in novels, films, and various television series popular during the 20th century.
Included in the composition are Native Americans and their authentic emblems — a mask, Kachina dolls, and a shield — alongside John Wayne, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt and General George Custer, the latter group exemplifying Warhol’s preoccupation with stardom.
At this point in his life, Warhol was forming bonds with a number of younger artists in the New York art scene including Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Salle, Keith Haring and Julian Schnabel.
From 1960 to 2020, Stone had a prominent New York City gallery that was known for showing artists such as: Wayne Thiebaud, Eva Hesse, Jack Whitten, and more.