Glenn Bray Explained

Glenn Bray
Birth Date:1948 4, df=y
Nationality:American
Occupation:Art collector, editor

Glenn Bray is an American private collector[1] of comic book art and memorabilia,[2] and the editor of multiple books about comic book and modern art, including The Original Art of Basil Wolverton: From the Collection of Glenn Bray(2007)[3] [4] and The Blighted Eye: Original Comic Art from the Glenn Bray Collection.[5] [6] Bray started collecting comics, original art, toys and posters in the 1970s,[7] amassing one of the largest private collections of comic art by Mad magazine artist Basil Wolverton[8] over the following decades. Bray’s comic art collection has thousands[9] of pieces, including art from Mad magazine artist Harvey Kurtzman, George Herriman (known for the Krazy Kat comic strip), Disney cartoonist Carl Barks, and Savage Pencil.

Early life and education

Bray grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley. Bray’s interest in comic book art started in the 1950s when he was 9 years old, and he saw Basil Wolverton’s art in Mad magazine.[10] As a teen, Bray started working in his family’s hardware store and began collecting comics, original art, toys and posters.[11]

Career and comic art collection

Bray purchased his first original piece of art, a drawing by Wolverton, in 1965 at age 17 for $10, and years later he purchased six pages of original art Wolverton made for a story in Mad magazine.[12] Bray’s collection of art from Mad is primarily from the comic book editions published under editor Harvey Kurtzman.[13] His collection developed through the 1970s when he purchased original art auctioned by Mad’s former publisher, William Gaines.[14] His collection includes original comic art from Mad magazine artists Harvey Kurtzman and Basil Wolverton, underground cartoonists Robert Williams, Robert Crumb, Gary Panter,[15] and Savage Pencil, alternative comic artists Daniel Clowes, George Herriman (known for the Krazy Kat comic strip,[16] and Disney cartoonist Carl Barks.

In 1971, Bray commissioned the first oil painting from Disney artist Carl Banks;[17] entitled A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By, the painting featured Donald Duck.[18]

Pieces from Bray’s comic art collection were included in the 2005 “Masters of American Comics” exhibitions at the Los Angeles Hammer Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art.[19]

Bray and his wife Lena Zwalve also collect art work by Polish modernist painter and sculptor Stanislav Szukalski.[20] Bray collaborated with and published several books with Szukalski.[21] In 2000 Bray, who is also the executor of Szukalski’s estate, helped organize a retrospective of Szukalski’s work called “Struggle: The Art of Stanislav Szukalski,” hosted at the Laguna Art Museum and sponsored by actor Leonardo DiCaprio.[22] The book Struggle: The Art of Szukalski, edited by Bray and Lena Zwalve, was released the same year.[23] [24] Bray’s filmed interviews with Szukalski in the 1980s were included in the 2018 Netflix documentary, .[25]

As of 2008, Bray held he largest private collection of art by Wolverton,[26] with over 400 pieces. In 2014, Bray’s comic art collection included “hundreds of thousands of items.”[27]

Publications

Bray edited and co-edited multiple books about comic art, including The Original Art of Basil Wolverton (2007)[28] [29] and Where Demented Wented: The Art and Comics of Rory Hayes in 2008.[30] [31]

In 2014, Bray co-edited The Blighted Eye: Original Comic Art from the Glenn Bray Collection,[32] featuring art by Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb,[33] Charles Adams, Peter Pontiac, and others.

Bray and comics scholar Frank M. Young co-edited To Laugh That We May Not Weep: The Life and Times of Art Young, published in 2017.[34] The book was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2018.[35]

Select publications

Personal life

Bray lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Lena Zwalve, a Dutch cartoonist.[49] He retired and closed his family’s hardware store in 2010.[50]

Notes and References

  1. News: Tonguette . Peter . Crazy about MAD . 6 June 2024 . Columbus Dispatch . 13 May 2018.
  2. News: Appleford . Steve . Glenn Bray brings his 'Blighted Eye' to collecting comic art . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 28 March 2014.
  3. News: Heller . Steven . Pretty Ugly . 6 June 2024 . The New York Times . 24 February 2008.
  4. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Original Art of Basil Wolverton: From the Collection of Glenn Bray . 2007 . Last Gasp . 9780867196870 . 271.
  5. News: Jennings . Dana . Mirror images, from real life or fun house . 6 June 2024 . The New York Times . 16 May 2014.
  6. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Blighted Eye: Original Comic Art from the Glenn Bray Collection . 2014 . Fantagraphics Books . 9781606996959 . 407.
  7. News: Tonguette . Peter . Crazy about MAD . 6 June 2024 . Columbus Dispatch . 13 May 2018.
  8. News: Harvey . Doug . Glenn Bray . 6 June 2024 . LA Weekly . 14 May 2008.
  9. News: Graham . Jordan . Quite a collection . Orange County Register . 24 August 2014 . The piece fits well with what Bray's home has become: a museum to house the 66-year-old's lifetime collection of comics, comic books, postcards, statues, toys, movie posters and any other absurd, macabre, sexual and satirical item that he finds offbeat, interesting and affordable. That collection now comprises hundreds of thousands of items, some on display, some tucked away. And he's happy to share what he's found with others..
  10. News: Chun . Alex . Just mad about Basil Wolverton . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 4 October 2007.
  11. News: Appleford . Steve . Glenn Bray brings his 'Blighted Eye' to collecting comic art . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 28 March 2014.
  12. News: Appleford . Steve . Glenn Bray brings his 'Blighted Eye' to collecting comic art . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 28 March 2014.
  13. News: Tonguette . Peter . Crazy about MAD . 6 June 2024 . Columbus Dispatch . 13 May 2018.
  14. News: Tonguette . Peter . Crazy about MAD . 6 June 2024 . Columbus Dispatch . 13 May 2018.
  15. News: Rosenkranz . Patrick . Here's the thing about collectors . 8 June 2024 . The Comics Journal . 11 June 2014.
  16. News: Rosenkranz . Patrick . Here's the thing about collectors . 8 June 2024 . The Comics Journal . 11 June 2014.
  17. News: Harvey . Doug . Glenn Bray . 6 June 2024 . LA Weekly . 14 May 2008.
  18. Book: Andrae . Thomas . Carl Barks and the Disney Comic Book, Unmasking the Myth of Modernity . 2006 . University Press of Mississippi/Jackson . 1-57806-858-4 . 274.
  19. News: Chun . Alex . Just mad about Basil Wolverton . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 4 October 2007.
  20. News: Letran . Vivian . Form and Fame of a 'Forgotten Genius' . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 11 November 2000.
  21. News: Kinsella . Eileen . Why Leonardo DiCaprio and His Father Produced a New Netflix Film About an Obscure Polish Artist . 18 June 2024 . Artnet . 20 December 2018.
  22. News: Harvey . Doug . Glenn Bray . 6 June 2024 . LA Weekly . 14 May 2008.
  23. News: Kinsella . Eileen . Why Leonardo DiCaprio and His Father Produced a New Netflix Film About an Obscure Polish Artist . 18 June 2024 . Artnet . 20 December 2018.
  24. Book: Stanislaw Szukalski . Glenn Bray . Lena Zwalve. Struggle: The Art of Szukalski . 2000 . Last Gasp . 0867194790 . 2nd.
  25. News: Han . Karen . 'Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski' Review: A Sharp Look at a Tangled Legacy . 13 June 2024 . The New York Times . 26 December 2018.
  26. News: Harvey . Doug . Glenn Bray . 6 June 2024 . LA Weekly . 14 May 2008.
  27. News: Graham . Jordan . Quite a collection . Orange County Register . 24 August 2014 . The piece fits well with what Bray's home has become: a museum to house the 66-year-old's lifetime collection of comics, comic books, postcards, statues, toys, movie posters and any other absurd, macabre, sexual and satirical item that he finds offbeat, interesting and affordable. That collection now comprises hundreds of thousands of items, some on display, some tucked away. And he's happy to share what he's found with others..
  28. News: Rosenkranz . Patrick . Here's the thing about collectors . 8 June 2024 . The Comics Journal . 11 June 2014.
  29. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Original Art of Basil Wolverton: From the Collection of Glenn Bray . 2007 . Last Gasp . 9780867196870 . 271.
  30. News: Daniel Clowes, Krazy Kat, and Rory Hayes: New Books on Comics Masters . 11 June 2024 . PRINT . 6 June 2012.
  31. Book: Dan Nadel . Glenn Bray . Where Demented Wented: The Art and Comics of Rory Hayes . 2008 . Fantagraphics Books . 978-1560979234 . 143.
  32. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Blighted Eye: Original Comic Art from the Glenn Bray Collection . 2014 . Fantagraphics Books . 9781606996959 . 407.
  33. News: Jennings . Dana . Mirror images, from real life or fun house . 6 June 2024 . The New York Times . 16 May 2014.
  34. News: Tisserand . Michael . 'To Laugh That We May Not Weep': Work of master cartoonist Art Young still resonates . 8 June 2024 . Chicago Tribune . 21 November 2017.
  35. News: Brown . Tracy . 'My Favorite Thing Is Monsters' and 'Monstress' lead 2018 Eisner Awards nominations . 8 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 26 April 2018.
  36. News: Kinsella . Eileen . Why Leonardo DiCaprio and His Father Produced a New Netflix Film About an Obscure Polish Artist . 18 June 2024 . Artnet . 20 December 2018.
  37. Book: Stanislaw Szukalski . Glenn Bray . Lena Zwalve. Struggle: The Art of Szukalski . 2000 . Last Gasp . 0867194790 . 2nd.
  38. News: Heller . Steven . Pretty Ugly . 6 June 2024 . The New York Times . 24 February 2008.
  39. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Original Art of Basil Wolverton: From the Collection of Glenn Bray . 2007 . Last Gasp . 9780867196870 . 271.
  40. Book: Dan Nadel . Glenn Bray . Where Demented Wented: The Art and Comics of Rory Hayes . 2008 . Fantagraphics Books . 978-1560979234 . 143.
  41. Book: Bray . Glenn . Hayes . Rory . Morgan . Harry . Nadel . Dan . Nounours en Enfer . 2013 . Ed. Stara . 978-2-9528164-4-1.
  42. News: Jennings . Dana . Mirror images, from real life or fun house . 6 June 2024 . The New York Times . 16 May 2014.
  43. Book: Bray . Glenn . The Blighted Eye: Original Comic Art from the Glenn Bray Collection . 2014 . Fantagraphics Books . 9781606996959 . 407.
  44. News: Tisserand . Michael . 'To Laugh That We May Not Weep': Work of master cartoonist Art Young still resonates . 8 June 2024 . Chicago Tribune . 21 November 2017.
  45. Book: Frank Young . Glenn Bray . To Laugh That We May Not Weep: The Life and Times of Art Young . 2017 . Fantagraphics Books . 9781606999943 . 381.
  46. Book: Szukalski . Stanislav . Glenn Bray . Lena Zwalve . Behold!!! the Protong: Extracts from the 39 Volumes of My Science "Zermatism," Based on New Interpretations of Petroglyphic Communications, in which Will be Revealed the Most Precedent-shattering and Up-turning of All Notions on Our Origins. Including Samplings from Anthropolitical Motivations, the Deluged Gods, and Listen to These Stones . 2019 . 9780867198768 . 160. Last Gasp of San Francisco .
  47. Book: Young . Art . Steven Heller . Glenn Bray . Art Young's Inferno : Original Art Edition . 2020 . Fantagraphics . 978-1683962809.
  48. Book: Szukalski . Stanislav . Glenn Bray . Lena Zwalve . Inner Portraits . 2020 . Last Gasp . 978-0867198799 . 3rd.
  49. News: Harvey . Doug . Glenn Bray . 6 June 2024 . LA Weekly . 14 May 2008.
  50. News: Appleford . Steve . Glenn Bray brings his 'Blighted Eye' to collecting comic art . 6 June 2024 . Los Angeles Times . 28 March 2014.

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