 Rush Christopher
            Hawkins was born in Pomfret, Vermont, on September 14,
            1831.  He left home at age 15 to enlist in the
            Mexican War and, though underage, was eventually
            entered in the Second Dragoons.  After the
            Mexican War he studied law and settled in New York
            City.  During the Civil War Hawkins served
            as Colonel of the 'Hawkins Zouaves', the 9th New York
            Volunteers, and was raised by brevet to the rank of
            Brigadier General in 1866. Hawkins continued to
            participate in public life publishing works on
            history, politics and culture (see selected list
            below) and devoting himself to building collections
            of early printed books and early and modern works of
            art. In his 90th year Hawkins was struck by an
            automobile as he crossed Fifth Avenue and died on
            October 25, 1920.
Rush Christopher
            Hawkins was born in Pomfret, Vermont, on September 14,
            1831.  He left home at age 15 to enlist in the
            Mexican War and, though underage, was eventually
            entered in the Second Dragoons.  After the
            Mexican War he studied law and settled in New York
            City.  During the Civil War Hawkins served
            as Colonel of the 'Hawkins Zouaves', the 9th New York
            Volunteers, and was raised by brevet to the rank of
            Brigadier General in 1866. Hawkins continued to
            participate in public life publishing works on
            history, politics and culture (see selected list
            below) and devoting himself to building collections
            of early printed books and early and modern works of
            art. In his 90th year Hawkins was struck by an
            automobile as he crossed Fifth Avenue and died on
            October 25, 1920.
            
 Annmary Brown,
            daughter of Nicholas Brown (Class of 1811),
            granddaughter of Nicholas Brown (Class of 1786) whose
            name the University adopted in 1804, and sister of
            Carrie Brown Bajnotti, whose memorial is Carrie
            Tower, was born in Providence on March 9, 1837. 
            She spent her early years in Tappan, New York,
            accompanied her parents to Rome when her father was
            appointed Consul-General, and was later educated in
            Geneva at Madame Arlaud's select school.  Annmary Brown and Rush Hawkins were married
            in 1860.  After her death from pneumonia in 1903
            Hawkins decided to build a memorial in her memory. 
            It was to be "first of all a Memorial to a woman
            of noble character [and] secondarily a collection of
            art treasures."  The Memorial was to
            contain Hawkins' book and art collections as well as
            his Civil War memorabilia and the General and Mrs.
            Hawkins' personal correspondence and mementos of
            their life together.  General and Mrs. Hawkins
            are entombed in a crypt at the rear of the building.  General
            Hawkins' placed fresh flowers on his wife's tomb each
            year on her birthday, a practice which continues to
            this day.
Annmary Brown,
            daughter of Nicholas Brown (Class of 1811),
            granddaughter of Nicholas Brown (Class of 1786) whose
            name the University adopted in 1804, and sister of
            Carrie Brown Bajnotti, whose memorial is Carrie
            Tower, was born in Providence on March 9, 1837. 
            She spent her early years in Tappan, New York,
            accompanied her parents to Rome when her father was
            appointed Consul-General, and was later educated in
            Geneva at Madame Arlaud's select school.  Annmary Brown and Rush Hawkins were married
            in 1860.  After her death from pneumonia in 1903
            Hawkins decided to build a memorial in her memory. 
            It was to be "first of all a Memorial to a woman
            of noble character [and] secondarily a collection of
            art treasures."  The Memorial was to
            contain Hawkins' book and art collections as well as
            his Civil War memorabilia and the General and Mrs.
            Hawkins' personal correspondence and mementos of
            their life together.  General and Mrs. Hawkins
            are entombed in a crypt at the rear of the building.  General
            Hawkins' placed fresh flowers on his wife's tomb each
            year on her birthday, a practice which continues to
            this day.
            
 The Annmary Brown
            Memorial, constructed between 1903 and 1907 to the
            design of Rhode Island architect Norman Isham, was
            independent until 1948, when it was deeded to Brown
            University.  In 1990 Hawkins' book and
            manuscript collections were removed to the John Hay
            Library with the exception of personal effects and
            the General's collection of books by and about people
            named Hawkins. The majority of the paintings, many of
            which had previously graced the couple's home, remain
            in the Memorial's galleries and storage facilities.
The Annmary Brown
            Memorial, constructed between 1903 and 1907 to the
            design of Rhode Island architect Norman Isham, was
            independent until 1948, when it was deeded to Brown
            University.  In 1990 Hawkins' book and
            manuscript collections were removed to the John Hay
            Library with the exception of personal effects and
            the General's collection of books by and about people
            named Hawkins. The majority of the paintings, many of
            which had previously graced the couple's home, remain
            in the Memorial's galleries and storage facilities.  
            Shortly
            after
            founding the Memorial Hawkins engaged C.H. Collins
            Baker to produce a catalog
            of the Memorial's  collection of paintings which
            was published in 1913.  (Baker later cataloged
            several of the Huntington Library and Art Gallery's
            collections and his archive of exhibition catalogs
            and newspaper clippings on British art is housed
            there.) 
            
                Paintings, in oil
                & water colours by early & modern
                painters, collected by Rush C. Hawkins,
                catalogued by C.H. Collins Baker and deposited in
                the Annmary Brown Memorial at Providence, Rhode
                Island,  London, Printed for the owner by
                the Medici Society, 1913 
                » Josiah record 
            
             One hundred and
            seventeen paintings are included in the second
One hundred and
            seventeen paintings are included in the second edition of this catalog, fifty-six by
            'early painters' and the remainder 'modern painters'.
            Hawkins' preference was for representational works
            and Baker in his preface explains that "redhot
            Impressionism, Post-impressionism and Futurism are
            not included in the arc General Hawkins set himself
            to traverse as regards the representative nature of
            the Annmary Brown Memorial Collection." 
            Baker also describes the patriotic motive behind
            Hawkins' collection building efforts.
 edition of this catalog, fifty-six by
            'early painters' and the remainder 'modern painters'.
            Hawkins' preference was for representational works
            and Baker in his preface explains that "redhot
            Impressionism, Post-impressionism and Futurism are
            not included in the arc General Hawkins set himself
            to traverse as regards the representative nature of
            the Annmary Brown Memorial Collection." 
            Baker also describes the patriotic motive behind
            Hawkins' collection building efforts.  
            
                "America in
                contrast with Europe has no aesthetic heritage...A
                community deprived of aesthetic canons,
                especially a civilised community, would sooner or
                later deteriorate into sheer materialism. 
                Realising this, patriotic Americans have pledged
                themselves to make up for America's lack of an
                art heritage by importing the finest examples of
                European and Eastern art that fall within their
                range." 
            
            Hawkins
            in the introduction to the catalog describes his hope
            that the collection will instruct and edify the
            American public at large.   
            
                "From the
                first, one part of the governing purpose was to
                bring together a small collection representing
                the greater Schools of early painting, and if
                possible to procure representative works by some
                of the most famous artists of each.  So that
                when brought together in a single room, student
                or layman would be able at a glance to become
                acquainted with some of the better work of the
                early art periods of several of the older
                countries that promoted the cultivation of the
                arts." 
            
            The
            collecting of culturally representative works also
            informed Hawkins' book collection method by which he
            very successfully attempted to acquire a
            representative book (preferably the first) issued by
            each of the first printers during the 'incunabula'
            period from Gutenberg's discovery in the mid 1450's
            to the end of the 15th century. Just as he would
            do with his art collection he engaged the best expert
            he could find - Alfred W. Pollard, former Keeper of
            Printed Books at the British Museum - to produce a
            catalog of his collection. 
             Rush Hawkins was
            recognized by his contemporaries both as a
            distinguished book collector and a discriminating
            patron of the arts. He was appointed Assistant to the
            Commissioner General for the United States Commission
            at the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. As "Commissaire
            Expert des Beaux Arts," he was responsible for
            selecting and organizing all the works to be
            exhibited by American artists, some of whose work he
            later purchased for his private collection. He
            succeeded in alienating James McNeill Whistler, who
            withdrew his work from the American exhibition in
            protest when ten of his twenty-seven submissions were
            rejected. Their artistic feud was publicly conducted
            in the pages of the Paris edition of The New York
            Herald and later memorialized in Whistler's extended
            essay on The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (Chelsea,
            1890, pp. 264-276).  Hawkins' official
            report is a spirited critique of contemporary art.
Rush Hawkins was
            recognized by his contemporaries both as a
            distinguished book collector and a discriminating
            patron of the arts. He was appointed Assistant to the
            Commissioner General for the United States Commission
            at the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. As "Commissaire
            Expert des Beaux Arts," he was responsible for
            selecting and organizing all the works to be
            exhibited by American artists, some of whose work he
            later purchased for his private collection. He
            succeeded in alienating James McNeill Whistler, who
            withdrew his work from the American exhibition in
            protest when ten of his twenty-seven submissions were
            rejected. Their artistic feud was publicly conducted
            in the pages of the Paris edition of The New York
            Herald and later memorialized in Whistler's extended
            essay on The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (Chelsea,
            1890, pp. 264-276).  Hawkins' official
            report is a spirited critique of contemporary art.
            
            General
            Hawkins' correspondence, much of it relating to his
            collections, is bound in twenty-two large volumes. 
            The volumes and a card file index are available for
            consultation at the John Hay Library.  Two
            volumes of newspaper clippings relating to the
            General's activities are also available.  The
            references field in the database indicates if there
            is a related clipping on a painting. 
             In 1984 the Hawkins
            art collection, which had grown to number 158 works, 
            was examined by a representative of Christie's and a
            small number of the attributions in the 1913 catalog
            were revised. For example, this portrait of
            George Washington attributed in the catalog to John
            Trumbull is now thought to be a forgery.  (See
            the notes to record #49 for an interesting commentary.) 
            Hawkins lamented the obstacles in the way of a
            collector "not of the millionaire class"
            and expressed the philosophy that "a real work
            of art does not depend upon a name, may have been
            painted by an obscure artist, and always with
            convincing certainty stands and speaks for itself."
In 1984 the Hawkins
            art collection, which had grown to number 158 works, 
            was examined by a representative of Christie's and a
            small number of the attributions in the 1913 catalog
            were revised. For example, this portrait of
            George Washington attributed in the catalog to John
            Trumbull is now thought to be a forgery.  (See
            the notes to record #49 for an interesting commentary.) 
            Hawkins lamented the obstacles in the way of a
            collector "not of the millionaire class"
            and expressed the philosophy that "a real work
            of art does not depend upon a name, may have been
            painted by an obscure artist, and always with
            convincing certainty stands and speaks for itself."
            
            The
            Annmary Brown Memorial is open to the public Monday
            through Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm with some
            exceptions.  It is advisable to call in advance:
            401-863-1994.  For further information about
            visiting the Memorial contact FOL@brown.edu.