Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Aileen St. John-Brenon papers

Call Number

MS 3045

Date

1920-1947, inclusive

Creator

St. John-Brenon, Aileen, 1894-1967

Extent

1.04 Linear feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Papers, correspondence, and ephemera of American music critic, and theatrical and film publicist Aileen St. John-Brenon (1894–1967). Brenon was publicity director for the Roxy Theatre, in Manhattan (opened 1927), and later worked for the Pathé Exchange, Cecil B. DeMille, and David O. Selznick film companies. The collection includes correspondence from Brenon's extended family, virtually all of whom had some connection to the arts, most notably her uncle, the silent film director Herbert Brenon (1880–1958), best known for "Beau Geste" (1926). Also present are several letters from Grant Wood (1891–1942), painter of "American Gothic," to Brenon's first husband, the art critic Thomas Jewell Craven (1888–1969).

Biographical/Historical Note

Aileen St. John-Brenon (1894–1967) was an American music critic, and theatrical and film publicist. She was born in England on 17 April 1894 and emigrated the following year with her parents, music critic Algernon St. John-Brenon (1875–1915), and Grace (Damian) St. John-Brenon (1869–1946), an oratorio singer who appeared at command performances before Queen Alexandra at Buckingham Palace. Aileen succeeded her father as music critic for the New York Morning Telegraph. Following that she directed publicity for the 1927 opening of the Roxy Theatre, Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel's 6,000-seat "cathedral of the motion picture" at 153 West 50th Street in Manhattan. (The Roxy was demolished in 1961.) Aileen moved on to film publicity, writing for Pathé Exchange (just before Joseph P. Kennedy sold it to R.K.O. in April 1930), Paramount, Cecil B. DeMille, and David O. Selznick. In the early 1950s, in partnership with Helen Morgan, she represented the performers Sophie Tucker and Judy Garland, and the film and theater director Rouben Mamoulian. Aileen retired in 1955 to travel with her second husband, playwright Richard Harrity (1907–1973), who was then travel editor for Cosmopolitan. Her first husband, whom she married in 1923 and divorced in 1947, was the novelist and art critic Thomas Jewell Craven (1888–1969), who championed the work of Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood. By her first husband Aileen had one son, Richard Craven (1928–2001). By her second husband she was stepmother to actor Rory Harrity (1933–1974). Aileen St. John-Brenon died in New York City on 23 September 1967, aged seventy-two.

In addition to her parents and both husbands, virtually every member of Aileen's extended family had some connection to the arts. Her grandmother, Frances (Harris) St. John-Brenon (1848–1931), was a traveler and author of the newspaper column "Things Quaint and Curious." (Oscar Wilde frequented her London salon.) Aileen's grandfather was the English dramatic critic Edward St. John-Brenon. Her uncle, Herbert Brenon (1880–1958), was a motion picture director perhaps best known for the silent films "Peter Pan" (1924) and "Beau Geste" (1926). Aileen's younger sister, Juliet St. John-Brenon (1895–1979), was an actress who appeared in some of their Uncle Herbert's films. Juliet married well-known set designer Cleon "Throck" Throckmorton (1897-1965), who maintained an active studio in bohemian Greenwich Village. An aunt, Roma (Brenon) Gurney (c. 1870–1927), was an actress, whose children, Oliver "Noll" Gurney and Hillary Gurney worked for the Cecil B. DeMille Film Company as production manager and secretary to the publicity manager.

[This note is drawn from several obituaries in the New York Times: "Algernon St. John-Brenon. Musical Critic of The Morning Telegraph Dies at Atlantic City" (20 December 1915); "Mrs. Frances Brenon Dies on Coast at 82" (14 July 1931); "Mrs. A. St. J. Brenon; Was Oratorio Singer" (2 October 1946); "Cleon Throckmorton, 68, Dead; Designed O'Neill Stage Settings" (25 October 1965); "Aileen Harrity, 72, A Publicity Woman" (24 September 1967); "Thomas Craven, Author, Dead; Caustic Art Critic and Lecturer" (1 March 1969); "Richard Harrity, Playwright, Dies" (21 January 1973); "Juliet B. Throckmorton" (22 November 1979).]

Arrangement

The collection is divided into two series:

Series I. Dated material, 1920-1947--21 folders, sorted chronologically.

Series II. Undated and miscellaneous material, undated, 1927-1941--correspondence (2 folders); writings and publicity (1 folder); ephemera (2 folders); food and diet, 1927-1941 (1 folder).

Scope and Contents

The Aileen St. John-Brenon Papers contain correspondence, clippings, and ephemera spanning 1920 through 1947, with a significant number of undated letters (two folders worth). The collection documents Brenon's career as publicity manager of the Roxy Theatre, in Manhattan, which opened in 1927 (see box 1, folders 5-6), her work for the Pathé Exchange film company (see box 1, folder 11, for her publicity pieces on the 1930 film "Her Man"), and her involvement in the life and work of her first husband, the novelist and art critic Thomas Jewell Craven (see box 2, folder 5, for letters to Craven from painter Grant Wood of "American Gothic" fame). Since so many members of the St. John-Brenon family were involved in theatrical pursuits, most letters reference the arts. Frequent correspondents include Aileen's grandmother, the newspaper columnist Frances Brenon (1848–1931), and her uncle, silent film director Herbert Brenon (1880–1958). The collection holds two newspaper photographs of Aileen St. John-Brenon, one from 1923 (box 1, folder 1), the other from 1927 (box 3, folder 5).

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)

Use Restrictions

This collection is owned by the New-York Historical Society. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before 1 January 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as the Aileen St. John-Brenon Papers, MS 3045, The New-York Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Peter M. White, June 2016.

Collection processed by

Joseph Ditta

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:33 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Information

Volunteer Carol Reisner sorted the dated material in the collection chronologically. Archivist Joseph Ditta processed the collection and created this finding aid in February 2018.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024