by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Ever wonder how museums get their start? One man, pharmacist Phillip Brown, is learning the answer. As head of Brown Museum in Springfield, Brown has been amassing a collection of expressionist art for display and sale. Complete renovations of the Eighth Street location came first, though. The old home was an investment property and was in disrepair. Last year, Brown hired a carpenter to remodel the entire 3,500 square-foot space to become a suitable home for his modern art.
Brown filled the museum with works from undiscovered or emerging artists at bargain prices. He intends to hold the originals as investments and profit from smaller, limited edition print copies. Brown compares himself to the founder of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, who made his fortune from the Ringling Brothers circus.
“Museums don’t make much money,” said Brown. “I had to find a strategy to make money.”
The original works will remain on display, but prints will be available. At this point, the museum is open by appointment only. Brown hopes to enlist the help of the City or relocate the collection to a more visible space such as the Adam’s Mark Hotel or Independent Square.
Four artists are featured at the museum: Yang Yang from Minneapolis, local painter Walter Williams, Chen (Brown doesn’t know his first name) and a Mr. Jamali, who hails from the Middle East. One of Yang’s featured pieces costs $600,000 and measures 16 feet by 20 feet. Second story floorboards had to be modified to accommodate the work. To complement all of the two-dimensional works lining the walls, Brown is searching for a statue to grace the front lawn of the museum.
Cultivating the museum has been time-consuming for Brown, who also operates the pharmacy across the street. A graduate of Northeast Louisiana University (now called the University of Louisiana at Monroe), Brown has been filling prescriptions in Springfield for 20 years. Balancing his day job with his passion for art has been a challenge for him lately and hiring personnel for the museum is not an option financially. Brown hopes to find some balance and a better future for the museum soon.
“All this art says something to me,” said Brown. “Art helps you grow. It lets you know who you are. Art is like searching for God, but you have to be careful that it doesn’t become your god. It’s not a religion.”