Lynn Klockner Brown was one of the most prolific and longest-resident artists at the Cybis studio, creating more than 60 of their sculptures, 43 of which were limited editions. She designed in all of their genres but had a special affinity for the equine sculptures as well as the Portraits in Porcelain.
Born in Lawrenceville, NJ, Lynn Klockner was an artist from an early age and especially loved drawing and painting the animals that were part of her country childhood. She studied with Sigmund Kozlow and John Charry and, during the late 1950s, with Rosa Somerville Hope in Cape Town, SA. After her return to the USA she worked at the Holland Mold Company in Trenton, which was owned by former Cybis employee Frank Hollendonner.
In late 1963 the Cybis studio was engaged in the production of the one of a kind Flower Bouquet of the United States to be exhibited in the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York, and was looking for additional artists to create the intricate handmade flowers and foliage. Lynn decided to interview for the job and was taken on a two-week trial basis by Marylin Chorlton. At that time the studio was still in its ‘undersized’ first location on Church Street, and the only place for Lynn to work was in a space shared with their intimidating head sculptor Laszlo Ispanky. Ispanky was known for his mercurial temperament, to say the least, and the young sculptress wondered what in the world she had got herself into! But she proved more than up to the challenge, and Marylin Chorlton was impressed enough with her skills to offer her a permanent position.
As was the custom at Cybis, Lynn spent part of her first year at the studio learning all aspects of their production process, from mold-making to casting to firing, as well as sculpting, finishing and painting. At one point the studio staff was discussing the idea of a limited-edition thoroughbred horse sculpture. Lynn mentioned that she had created a model of a thoroughbred for the horse’s owner on a private-commission basis, but the customer cancelled the order after having given her a $100 deposit; the model was by then more than half finished.
Lynn chose to complete the model anyway, so she asked Marylin Chorlton if she would like to see it. It proved to be exactly what was wanted, and Lynn was paid by the studio for the design; out of a sense of fairness she returned the original customer’s $100 deposit to her. The Thoroughbred was an issue of 350 that was produced from 1966 to 1972.
Lynn was employed by the Cybis studio until the end of 1989, at which time the studio dismissed all of their permanent in-house staff and temporarily closed. However, she was asked in 1995 to produce a set of the Twelve Days of Christmas ornaments to be sent to the White House in accordance with the Clintons’ Christmas theme that year.
Fellow-artist George Ivers visiting Lynn at her home/farm during the 1990s; he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1981 but continued to work at Cybis until 1986.
A complete list of Lynn’s sculptures for Cybis appears at the end of this post.
Pastel and Oil Paintings
Porcelain sculpture is by no means Mrs. Brown’s only talent. She also has had a successful career as a painter, working in both oils and pastels, especially on wildlife and equestrian subjects. An avid horsewoman, both she and her husband Francis (“Brownie”) Brown were licensed thoroughbred horse trainers active on the NJ/PA circuit for almost 30 years and many of her paintings reflect the racing, show, and hunting life. A representative selection of her work is shown below. Please note that although some of the photos are in black and white, all of the original paintings were done in full color.
Racing and Hunting
Foxes and Dogs
Foxes are a favorite subject, and in fact Mrs. Brown once fostered a group of seven orphan cubs before rehabilitating them into the wild. The first three paintings shown below were featured on the cover of The Chronicle of the Horse, one of the longest-running equestrian publications (since 1937.)
As shown in this photo, during the 1980s their issues were produced only in two-color and greyscale printing, and so her full color original paintings appeared on their covers exactly as they do here.
Landscapes
These were all painted at or near the artist’s home in rural Pennsylvania. All are oil paintings.
Horses and Family
This watercolor portrait of a chestnut was painted in March 1964 for a local client. The matting and framing were done by the client.
Another lovely equine portrait from the same year.
Several of Lynn’s paintings portray her two grandchildren, Ashley Michelle and Donovan Joshua. Tragically, both children perished in September 1993 in an early morning house fire. In a 1997 article for the Equine Art Guild, entitled “A Very Special Angel”, she describes how her grief over their deaths prompted her to begin a series of portraits of them. The portrait below was also produced as a blank greeting card with a portion of the sales proceeds going to benefit fire safety awareness.
All of the paintings shown above have been sold, but Lynn Klockner Brown is still actively painting on a private-commission basis. If you are interested in commissioning a painting, either from life or from photographs, please use the direct-contact form on the About the Cybis Archive page and I will provide you with her contact information. Due to the prevalence of ‘spambots’ Mrs. Brown understandably prefers not to have her phone number and home address directly displayed on a webpage.
Cybis sculptures by Lynn Klockner Brown
Limited editions are indicated by an asterisk. The + symbol denotes that the piece is confirmed to have been chosen and presented as a Presidential Gift of State to a foreign leader or nation. Each of these sculptures is pictured on this site; use the alphabetical Index page to access the post in which that piece appears.
Flowers:
Windflower +
American Crested Iris with Bobwhite Chick *
Narcissus *
Magnolia +
Dutch Crocus * +
Colonial Flower Basket * +
Spring Bouquet *
Condesa Rose +
Single rose stem in three sizes (sold as Joy, Tiffany, and Pink Cameo)
Christmas Rose *
Apple Blossoms with Butterfly and Apple *
Birds:
Blue Headed Vireos with Lilac *
Clematis with House Wren *
Kinglets on Pyracantha *
Autumn Dogwood with Chickadees *
Baby Chicks ‘Downy & Lemon’
Nestling Bluebirds on Cockspur Hawthorn
Dove with raised wings
Blue Gray Gnatcatchers * (entire piece other than the birds themselves)
Golden Winged Warbler with Andromeda * (entire piece other than the andromeda flowers)
Animals (other than horses):
Chipmunk with Bloodroot *
Bunnies ‘Cotton Puff and Snow’
High Rise *
Raffles
Woodchuck ‘Roly Poly’
Chatsworth & Sloane fox cubs *
Kitten with Blue Ribbon
Horses/Equestrian:
Circus Rider *
Thoroughbred * +
Stallion *
Pony with Kids
Lady Godiva *
Pegasus * +
Horse head ‘Satin’ *
Unicorn head ‘Prince Brocade’ *
The Lady and the Unicorn *
Sea King’s Steed ‘Oceanea’ *
People:
Abigail Adams *
Sharmaine the Sea Nymph *
Aphrodite *
Theron, boy centaur *
Cybele, girl centaur *
Dore *
Lullaby Baby on Moon
Jack and The Beanstalk
The Prince and companion piece The Pauper
Carnation Boy
Strawberry Boy
Melody *
Pip the Elfin Player *
Rose Madonna
Madonna with Lily * (head and shoulders; the hands and the flower were added afterward by the studio)
Desdemona *
Queen Guinevere * (this is the seated Guinevere, not the bust)
King Arthur *
Elaine, Lady of the Lake *
Knight in Shining Armor *
Commemorative Bride *
Commemorative Groom *
Bridal Centerpiece/Cake Topper
Prima Ballerina *
Cupid with Heart (decoration on heart was done by George Ivers)
Series of four annual Angel Ornaments made only during the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988
Lynn also put the finishing design touches on Berengaria and did the modifications/tweaks of Arion the Dolphin Rider which was cast from an old bronze by Jennewein. Four pieces designed but never put into retail production include a bird study (Baby Cedar Waxwing) and three flower pieces (Foxgloves, Gladiolas, and Morning Glory.) The original artist proof of the Morning Glory can be seen at the end of the Flowers post.
Other Sculptures by Lynn Klockner Brown
These photos show three sculptures in their clay-model stages. These were not intended for the Cybis studio.
Two views of the unfinished Pony and Children in Mrs. Brown’s studio. The underlying structural supports can be clearly seen. (Clothing would have been added to the child bodies in the next phase.) In describing this piece to me, Lynn explained that there was a companion piece of a third child meant to stand near this one; that child was carrying a basket and would have been titled Picking Apples.
A clay model of a young kneeling angel with outspread wings.
Angel on Unicorn has a special meaning, because it represents her granddaughter Ashley who perished in the 1993 fire, depicted here as an angel. This is the plasticine model; it is quite large and heavy, and was stored on a top shelf for many years. My huge thanks to Lynn’s friend Ron who took these photos in January 2024 and sent them to me!
This woodcarving of an Arabian horse head was created by Lynn when she was only a teenager.
A later woodcarving of a life-size horse head; many thanks to the collector/owner who graciously shared this photo!
Writings by Lynn Klockner Brown
In addition to her skill as an artist in multiple mediums, Lynn is also a published writer. Here is something that she wrote after marveling at one of the baby chickens in her flock.
Dear banty chick
Delicate as a spiderweb
Sooty black down
Hardly bigger than a bumble bee
Just a tiny black puff
Bright eyes and little toothpick legs
A big voice that cries because you are lost
But you stop crying when my hand comes near,
And you snuggle up in my warm palm
To peep contentedly and close your eyes.
You are a nuisance because I have work to do
But right now my heart goes out to you
Because you are a miracle.
How can such a little wispy thing
As you, exist?
This is an excerpt from her essay titled The Masterpiece.
In an instant, the storm was gone! On the western horizon silver clouds broke to reveal a radiant sun as dark angry clouds were blown away to the east. Gurgling rivulets rushed over the sodden ground as I pulled the cart, laden with feed and hay, out to the horses. Brilliant rays of the lowering sun cast an amber sheen on the side of a black shed, and all about the light became intense, the atmosphere eerie. The mountains were now dark bronze and against them the trees stood out starkly, their trunks and empty reaching branches pale gold in the sun. In contrast, the meadow was aglow with vibrant green, the horses shone red-gold against the murky eastern sky; and in that sky, spanning all, there appeared two perfect shimmering rainbows.
When I first contacted Mrs. Brown in preparation for this post and asked for a list of the sculptures she had created while at Cybis, I was amazed to see that almost every one of my all-time favorite pieces had been created by her: I had been a ‘Lynn Klockner Brown collector’ without even realizing it! Perhaps other Cybis collectors may now discover that they have been one as well. :-)
Lynn Klockner Brown with three of her artist’s proof Cybis sculptures that were sold in 2016 at auction.
Name Index of Cybis Sculptures
Visual Index (for human figures/busts only)
About the Cybis Reference Archive
What is Cybis?
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