John Carter Brown

John Carter Brown (died in 2002) was the former head of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and in 2002 was succeeded by Earl A. Powell III.

"Mr. Brown served on many boards and committees, including those for the World Monuments Fund, the National Geographic Society, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Commission of Fine Arts, of which he was a member for 30 years. On that commission he helped significantly reshape official Washington with projects like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He also backed the design for a World War II Memorial on the Washington Mall, near the Vietnam memorial. Mr. Brown helped obtain Congressional and presidential approval for the design, which bitterly divided veterans' groups, architectural experts and others. He was sensitive to the criticism. He also served on the jury for the Pritzker Prize for architects."