Shark Trial (Part II), 1961 oil on canvas, Gift of Staempfli Gallery, New York City

Joan Brown received her formal education at the California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, where she graduated with a Master’s of Fine Arts in 1959.  In her early years, Brown was influenced by a diversity of artistic groups including the German Expressionists, the French Impressionists, and the works of Western European old masters.  Many of the images and ideas she encountered on her extensive travels are present in her artworks.  Brown also concentrated on the loneliness and awkwardness that can consume individuals in highly social environments.  In her later career, she made frequent visits to India and became a devotee of spiritual leader, Sathya Sai Baba.  Brown died tragically in an accident in Puttaparthi, India, while installing an obelisk she had created for the new Eternal Heritage Museum.