Timeline: Becky Brown

TimeLine: Becky Brown

* Ceramics exhibitions. Most of the information here comes from Becky's vita, or from the memories of her sons. Some items came from interviews of Becky conducted by Ginny Marsh in the 1990's (marked [GM]). Some items came posthumously from Becky's files.

1914 (September 14): Born in Kentucky, daughter of Edward Stinson Brown and Golden Glee Ragle Brown.
Becky about age 8 (right)
with her mother and brother.
1930: Becky's mother, Golden Glee, dies when Becky is 16 years old. Obituary.

Becky at about
age 16.
1932: Becky graduates from Bloomington High School as Valedictorian of her class [GM].
1932-34: Completed two and a half years of college at Indiana University [GM], dropping out when she married Karl, resuming and completing her A.B. in 1969.

Karl Martz and Becky Brown in the 1930's
Our Lives in Brown County (1935-1961)

Wedding
Announcement
by Karl.
1935: On January 30, Married Karl Martz in a small private ceremony at the home of Karl's parents, 507 South Jordan Ave., Bloomington Indiana. Marriage performed by Becky's grandfather, John Ragle. See Martz residences in Brown County, Indiana.
1937-38: Artist's Representative, Brown County Art Gallery, Nashville, Indiana.
1939-42: Apprenticed in Karl Martz Studio, Nashville, Indiana -- the Pink House.

Showroom in
the Pink House.
Left: Becky in 1943
at a party in Chicago.
(photo hand-colored).

Right: Karl and Becky
with Brian and Eric,
at Hull House
in Chicago, 1944.
1940: Son Eric born while the family lived in the Pink House.
1942: Son Brian born while the family lived in the Mathis house. See Martz Studios & Residences.
1943-44: Lived in Chicago, frequenting museums and galleries. Lived in Hull House and worked in its library.
1944: Brother Edward Stinson Brown Jr. severely wounded in the Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy (Second World War).
1945-48: Lived in a log cabin at 360 North Van Buren Street (State Rd. 135), Nashville, Indiana, in use in renovated form in 2025. The cabin was rented from Walter Snodgrass. The kitchen sink had a hand pump from a well. The bathroom was an outhouse. See Martz family residences.
1949-50: Lived in a triple-wide trailer in a trailer park in Bloomington, Indiana.
1949: Studied design with Alma Eikerman, Indiana University.
1949: Began constructing, with Karl, the Martz Studio and home in Brown County, Indiana.
1950, summer: Began residence in the Martz Studio. Took two-week motor trip to New York area with Onya La Tour.

Becky in 1945
sketched by
Ruth Low.
1951: Course in Baroque Art History, Indiana University.
*1951: Work shown in First Biennial Indiana Ceramic Exhibition, John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1952-53: Lived in New York City for five months, touring museums and galleries.

Becky in the Sculpture
Garden of the Museum
of Modern Art, NYC, 1953.

Becky in the upstairs
living room of their
Brown County house,
ca. 1952.
*1953: Work shown in Second Biennial Indiana Ceramic Exhibition, John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana.
*1955: Work shown in Third Biennial Indiana Ceramic Exhibition, John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana.
*1955: Work shown in Indiana Ceramics, Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
*1959: First Annual DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
*1960: Second DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
1961: Sold Martz Studio in Brown County and moved to Bloomington, Indiana.
*1961: Third DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
1961-62: Lived in Kyoto and Tokyo Japan, touring museums and galleries.
1961-1967: Worked as an assistant in the Department of Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington.
*1962: Fourth DePauw Ceramic Show, Putnam County Art League Purchase Award, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
*1964: Fifth DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
*1966: Mid-States Craft Exhibition, The Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, Evansville, Indiana.
1966: Toured museums and crafts in Mexico for six weeks.
1969, Summer: Karl and Becky worked at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York.
1969: Completed A.B. in English from Indiana University (started 1932-34).
1969-71: Worked as an academic counselor for undergraduate English majors, and non-majors, in the Department of English, Indiana University, Bloomington. Becky and Marcia Stalnecker were the first non-faculty hired as such advisors. Experimental at the time, they made it a great success.
1970: Six weeks observing studio and production potteries and museums in Holland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and England.
Becky Brown and Rosemary Fraser at an opening in The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana USA in the 1970's.
1970-75: Full Partner in The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana.
1970-71: Academic Advisor, Department of English, Indiana University.

Becky carrying a
saggar by the
Daisei noburi-gama,
October, 1971.
1971-72: Worked for six weeks as an apprentice in the Daisei family pottery, Mashiko, Japan. Lived in Mashiko for five months.
*1973: Objects and Crafts, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1975: Resigned partnership in The Gallery to spend more time a studio pottery.
*1978: Clayfest, Indiana Central University, Indianapolis, Indiana.
*1978: Clay, Designer-Craftsman Invitational, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
*1978: Two-person exhibit, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana.
*1979: Solo exibition Works in Clay at the Alliance Museum Shop, Indianapolis Museum of Art. Featured Gazelle with Sackbut.
Becky Brown, 1983
*1981: Two-person exhibit, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana (featuring the Baseball Player; with drawings and paintings by Nancy Morgan-Barnes).
*1981: Indiana Fire II, Moreau Gallery Invitational, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.
1985: Pymlich Bebron (dog, named by Karl) joins the Martz Family.
1985: About this time, Becky ceased making ceramics due to arthritis.
1985-1991: Docent, Indiana University Museum of Art.
1990's: Concentrated on writing poetry.
1997: Death of Karl (May 27).
1998: Poem "Korean Vase" published in The Studio Potter, June 1998, volume 26, number 2, page 72.
*1998: Ceramics and Sculpture by Becky Brown and Studio Pottery by the late Karl Martz. Art Gallery, Meadowood Retirement Community (January).
1999: Death of dog Pymlich Bebron.
2001, this website was started by Becky's son Eric.
2008: A new, permanent exhibition of ceramics at the Midwest Museum of American Art (Elkhart, Indiana US) includes several pieces by Becky Brown, thanks to the energetic collecting and generosity of Douglas and Barbara Grant. It also includes over a dozen pieces by Karl Martz.
2009: Book Clay Times Three is published. The author, Kathy M. McKimmie, does a wonderful job of weaving the lives of Becky and Karl into a well-documented, coherent and engaging story. Her careful research and thorough documentation are outstanding. The 38 pages concerning Karl Martz and Becky Brown represent their first published biography. The book includes four photos of Becky, three of their studios, and photos of 20 of her pots, most in color, and including 8 of her animal sculptures.
2011, April 4, Becky's life ends. Obituary.

Posthumous Recognition:
2016: This 1954 tall "double gourd" vase (item #2) was shown in 200 Years of Indiana Art: A Cultural Legacy at the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana.
2019: Over a dozen pieces of Becky's were featured in the exhibit Karl Martz and the Legacy of Indiana University Ceramics at the Haan Mansion Museum, Lafayette, Indiana, USA. May 4 -- July 27. This exhibit was described in an illustrated article by Kathy McKimmie in the