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April 12th. 1956

Dear Mr. Brown:

You ask me not to "pull any punches" regarding your painting of Calvary, so "hold onto your hat" while I am frank:

First, your colors are very good, and with that my complimentary remarks are at an end... but the "faults" are, I belive deliberate and intellectually planned.

You include too many directions.... representational, abstract non-representational. A choice must be made. I would suggest you take any subject of your choosing, carry it out 3 ways representally until you are completely satisfied, then on another canvas make an abstraction from it observing the "representational" laws of space, proportions, etc.. and continuing to a third canvas should you wish to be even more non representational.

All you need is a slight bit of reassurance and guidance or criticism by someone with a good background - by which I mean someone who has gone through the routine from the meticulous to be abstract or non representational. Lebrun sell works from drawings which are completely representational.

Ethel Magafan has a grant which will take her out of the country, so I spoke to WolfeKahn (about 28 years of age and who insisted on making his progress slowly with the result that today he is on sound ground). He could not go to Alpine next summer as he has a show coming up in the Fall. But he is bringing in a friend who will show me photographs and who, Wolfe syas, is an excellent artist and teacher. If I find him so I shall give him your name and address.

We will lend you our "Eye of Man" for the summer and also the Ralph Pearson book.

To revert to your painting again, it is made up of good elements, but elements which should not have been combined.

Hope you get the eagles before they get the lambs, and that you can then have the deserved vacation. We may ultimately get down to Alpine, but not immediately.

Sincerely,

Mrs. T.D. Parker
Contemporary American Dept.

Mr. George E. Brown,
Box 218,
Alpine, Texas.