Harrison Bird Brown began his career as a modest beginning as a sign painter. He later turned to painting and established himself as one of the most celebrated landscape painters in Maine during the second half of the nineteenth century. Brown spent the greatest portion of his life in Maine, and his works often depicted the wholesome outdoor environment of his home state.
Brown was born in Portland, Maine in 1831 and died in London in 1915. He was fortunate to have been born during a period when landscape painting enjoyed immense popularity, due mainly to the earlier influence of Charles Codman (1800-1842). Codmans’ paintings were widely collected for their keenly romantic sentiments. It is likely that Brown, as an apprentice sign and banner painter, saw examples of Codmans’ poetic landscape paintings.
By the time he was 21, Brown had completed an apprenticeship with Forbes and Wilson, a firm of house and ship painters located on Fore Street near Portland's harbor. He immediately opened his own sign and banner establishment.
By 1858, having become a skilled commercial painter; Brown discarded his business to concentrate solely on fine art. His decision proved fruitful; between 1858 and 1860, the National Academy of Design in New York City exhibited six of his landscapes (five of which were borrowed from owners for the exhibition).
Oakland (1860, Portland Museum of Art) and Autumn in the White Mountains (1870, Portland Museum of Art are two of Brown’s popular works depicting the scenic beauty of Maine. His best-known paintings were of the Casco Bay, Maine area. Brown's sensitive handling of thin color produces effects of light and atmosphere reminiscent of John Frederick Kensett's technique.
Brown's election to the presidency of the Portland Society of Art in 1892 indicated his stature among his contemporaries in the New England art world. He moved to London in 1892, when he continued to paint, living there until his death in 1915.
MEMBERSHIPS
Portland Society of Art
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Portland Museum of Art, Maine
