P44: Ignatius Wadsworth Brock Collection

Creator: Ignatius Wadsworth Brock

Extent: 468 items (not including manuscripts and printed materials)

Format(s): Black-and white photographic negatives and prints, ambrotype, watercolor and oil paintings.

Access: Not restricted

Usage Restrictions: The current policies of the North Carolina Collection define the conditions of use.

Provenance: Donors include Ora Brock Burgin (Brock’s daughter) of Weaverville, NC who contributed materials on March 26, 1991 (accession no. 30453), Sept. 13, 1991 (accession no. 30475), Dec. 1992 (accession no. 30559); Juanita Brown (a former employee in Brock’s studio) of Asheville, NC who contributed materials on Sept. 13, 1991 (accession no. 30474; and Celia and Joseph Eudy of Kinston, NC who contributed materials in 1995 (accession no. 30824), and in 1996 (accession no. 30825).

Biographical Sketch: Ignatius (Nace) Wadsworth Brock was born on a farm in Jones County, North Carolina in 1866. He studied art at Cooper Union in New York City and worked as an apprentice in the New Bern, North Carolina photographic studio of Edward Gerock. Brock was a talented painter and photographer. He also wrote poetry. Around 1897, Brock opened a photographic studio in Asheville, N.C. after visiting the town on his honeymoon. He lived there until his death in 1950.

Nace Brock is the most notable North Carolina photographer to embrace the pictorial movement in photography. His 1899 photograph Return of the Sheep exemplifies the pictorial style. Photographs of landscapes and women comprise some of Brock's best work. He also photographed Asheville novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) when Wolfe was seven years of age. Brock was the acknowledged mentor of North Carolina photographer Bayard Wootten (1875-1959).

Collection Description: The collection contains mostly portraits of men, women, and children; African Americans and members of the photographer’s family are among the subjects he photographed. The collection also includes photographs of Brock himself, and a few landscapes. Many of his early photographs are printed on platinum paper.

The Collection also includes brochures and pamphlets relating to photography, and a small group of manuscripts. The North Carolina Collection Gallery has the Century view camera from Brock's Asheville studio.

Container List

Box 1: Glass Plate Negatives

Box 2: Glass Plate Negatives

Box 3: Hand-colored photographs on "Ivorette"

Box 4: Landscape photographs

Box 5: Photographs of Nace Brock and family

Box 6: Photographs of African Americans

Box 7: Photographs of Children

Box 8: Photographs of Men

Box 9: Photographs of Women

Box 10: Photographs of Women

Box 11: Oversized Photographs (includes men and women)

Box 12: Paintings and copies of paintings

Box 13: Manuscripts

Box 14: Printed material

Other Collections | Photographic Archives Menu | Restrictions and Copyright

Copyright © North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill, 1997. All Rights Reserved.