Born to Max Prown and Matilda Cassileth in Freehold, Prown attended the Peddie School.[1] He received his Bachelor of Arts from Lafayette College (1951). He then continued on to receive two Master of Arts degrees from Harvard University (1953) and the University of Delaware in Early American Culture (1956), respectively. Prown completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Art History from Harvard (1961).[2] There, his dissertation was titled "The English Career of John Singleton Copley, R.A," in which he studied the painter John Singleton Copley.
Upon graduating from Harvard, Prown began teaching at Yale University, where he has remained throughout his career. He is now the Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art. He has also held the posts of Curator of American Art at the Yale University Art Gallery and is the Founding Director of the Yale Center for British Art.
^"Shirley Ann Martin To Wed Jules Prown", The Freehold Transcript and The Monmouth Inquirer, April 12, 1956. Accessed January 30, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Mr. Prown, who is an alumnus of the Peddle School, Hightstown, and Lafayette College, Easton. Pa., received his master's degree from Harvard University."
^"Jules Prown". Yale University. Retrieved January 28, 2023.