About Dr Joseph Brown AO, OBE

Joseph Brown was born in Poland in 1918 and migrated to Australia in 1933 at the age of 15, settling in Melbourne. He trained initially as an artist but after returning from war service in 1945 became increasingly involved in the fashion industry. Later he became a leading art dealer and consultant, promoting a wide range of Australian artists, both historical and contemporary.

Dr Brown reclaimed the work of forgotten artists, introduced and mentored many new artists, and was a great advocate for portraiture as an art form. Simultaneously he built up an outstanding private collection of Australian art.

In May 2004, Dr Brown donated the major part of his incomparable collection to the National Gallery of Victoria. His archive, comprising a significant body of correspondence with many Australian artists and other prominent figures in the world of Australian art, was donated to the State Library of Victoria in 2007.