NANCY JANE CARLEN

CARLEN

NANCY JANE, Carmel Valley, California, producer of the Big Sur Folk Festival, died April 18, 2013. Nancy was born September 20, 1941 in Philadelphia. Her father, Robert Carlen, was an early American antiques and art dealer who discovered works of Edward Hicks and championed African American painter, Horace Pippin. Her mother, Alice Serber Carlen, was a native of Philadelphia. Nancy attended Boston University where she met folksinger, Joan Baez. Nancy moved to Big Sur, California in 1961. Nancy, Joan Baez and Mimi and Richard Farina founded the Big Sur Folk Festival which was held from 1964 to 1971. Nancy then worked for folksinger Judy Collins and later for Joan Baez, before leaving the music business in the 1980s. Nancy began a new career as a lawyer in 1991. Nancy is survived by her two grandchildren, a God-daughter, her two nieces, Kirsten Brown and Sarah Brown and a great-nephew. Her sister, Susan Brown, and her parents preceded her in death. Donations may be made to the Carlen Prize, which provides art supplies to students who cannot afford them, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.