VCU James Branch Cabell Library
Brian McRoberts collection of Virginia State Capitol Materials
McRoberts, Brian P.
M 386
/repositories/5/resources/198
0.42 Linear Feet
1994-2002
English
.
Access Restrictions
The colleciton is open for research, however all student records in folder 20 are subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) restrictions and are not available for research.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by Dr. Charles Brownell in 2009.
Arrangement
The Brian P. McRoberts Collection is organized into four categories. The first group consists of papers regarding his submission to The Classicist. The papers, organized chronologically, include letters between McRoberts and the Director of the Institute for Classical Architecture as well as ten different sets of drawings. A second group of papers are from McRoberts' academic career, including a paper written as an undergraduate student as well as fliers created while serving as an assistant to Dr. Brownell. The Johnston and Carneal images are also included in this section. The third group of papers are correspondence between Dr. Brownell and the McRoberts family, which provide insight into McRoberts as a beloved individual. A fourth category consists of a photocopied image and Dr. Brownell's initial guide for the McRoberts' Papers.
Biographical Information
Brian P. McRoberts (d. 1995) was an architectural history student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He studied early American architecture with Dr. Charles Brownell and served as his undergraduate teaching assistant (1994-1995). In the fall of 1996, he would have been the first recipient of the Bess T. Brownell Assistantship in Architectural History. However, he died unexpectedly in the fall of 1995. In honor of McRoberts' memory, Dr. Brownell dedicated the Fourth Annual VCU Architectural Symposium in the Fall of 1996 to him.
McRoberts' greatest scholarly contribution is the reconstruction of Thomas Jefferson's design for the great hall of the Virginia State Capitol. McRoberts published his drawings in the first issue of
The Classicist (1995). His drawings were used in several publications by Dr. Brownell, including a book titled, The Capital of Virginia—Landmark of American Architecture (2002). From December 1994 to June 1995, McRoberts cataloged hundreds of drawings by the architectural firm of Carneal and Johnston. However, both his written and computerized records have yet to be found. The only records that remain are several contact sheets with images of the drawings.
Custodial History
The McRoberts family gave this collection to Dr. Charles Brownell in December 1995.
Preferred Citation
Brian McRoberts Collection of Virginia State Capitol Materials, Collection Number M 386, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
Scope and Contents
The collection, dated 1994-2002, includes McRoberts's drawings, papers, and correspondence as a Virginia Commonwealth University student. It also includes letters written by Dr. Charles Brownell and members of the McRoberts family. The papers in the collection serve as a foundation for students to conduct further research in American architecture.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Architecture -- Virginia -- Richmond.
Virginia Commonwealth University. Department of Art History -- students
McRoberts, Brian P. -- Archives
Brownell, Charles E. -- Correspondence
Virginia State Capitol (Richmond, Va.)
Papers for The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/483811994-19961"Call for Papers Fliers, The Classicist"/repositories/5/archival_objects/483851994-19961Letter of Submission to The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48386December 23, 19941Correspondence regarding McRoberts' Submission to The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48387January 4, 19951Correspondence regarding McRoberts' Submission to The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48388January 14, 19951Correspondence regarding McRoberts' Submission to The Classicist: Director's Corrections to Drawings/repositories/5/archival_objects/48389February 28, 19951Correspondence regarding McRoberts' Submission to The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48390March 17, 19951Correspondence regarding McRoberts' Submission to The Classicist/repositories/5/archival_objects/48391April 19, 19951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 1/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839219951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 2/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839319951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 3/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839419951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 4/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839519951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 5/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839619951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 6/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839719951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 7/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839819951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 8/repositories/5/archival_objects/4839919951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 9/repositories/5/archival_objects/4840019951McRoberts' Drawings for The Classicist, Set 10/repositories/5/archival_objects/4840119951Announcement of McRoberts' Article in The Classicist in Newsletter for the Prarie Avenue Workshop (no. 33)/repositories/5/archival_objects/48402October 19951Information for The Classicist (no. 1) from UVA Catalog/repositories/5/archival_objects/4840319951Assistantship with Dr. Charles Brownell/repositories/5/archival_objects/483821994-19951Brownell Evaluation/Notes from Student File, Robert McRoberts/repositories/5/archival_objects/48404August 31, 19931Fliers Created by McRoberts during assistantship/repositories/5/archival_objects/4840519951Interview with Brownell on Richmond Drawings from 19th-century in Style Weekly/repositories/5/archival_objects/48406January 10,19951McRoberts' Drawings Published in Brownell's Article in Richmond Journal of History and Architecture/repositories/5/archival_objects/48407Summer 19941Paper presented for freshman art history class titled, "Mark Rothko: From Surrealism to Abstract Classicism: Painting in the Mid-Twentieth Century"/repositories/5/archival_objects/48408April 19941Program Flier for The Institute for the Study of Classical Architecture, addressed to Brian McRoberts/repositories/5/archival_objects/48409Summer 19951Contact Sheet of Carneal and Johnston Drawings/repositories/5/archival_objects/48410n.d.1Correspondence/repositories/5/archival_objects/483831995-1996, 20021Correspondence Between Dr. Charles Brownell and McRoberts Family/repositories/5/archival_objects/484111995-19961Letter to McRoberts Family from John Bryan, Associate Dean of Development/repositories/5/archival_objects/48412December 22, 20021Miscellaneous/repositories/5/archival_objects/48384n.d.,19961Miscellaneous, Photo-copied image of Brian McRoberts/repositories/5/archival_objects/48413n.d.1Original Guide to McRoberts' Papers, Created by Dr. Charles Brownell/repositories/5/archival_objects/48414January 1, 19961