Harrison Bird Brown

Vividly True to Nature
Portland Museum of Art
March 10 - September 9, 2007

Title: Camping on Grand Manan with the W. H. Pratt of Boston Offshore, 1870
Artist: Harrison Bird Brown (American 1831-1915)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: Stretcher: 20.25 x 36.125", Frame: 32.0625 x 48.0625";
Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum Purchase with support from The Peggy and Harold Osher Acquisition Fund, Friends of the Collection, Rudolf F. Haffenreffer IV Charitable Trust, The Janet Drummond Memorial Fund, and individual gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Bass, Joan B. Burns, William D. Hamill, Mr. and Mrs. George M. Lord, Rosamond S. Richardson, Anita and Charles Stickney, Roger and Katherine Woodman and three anonymous donors, 1987.90
Permanent Collection & Image Courtesy: Portland Museum of Art, Maine

Landscapes by 19th-Century Portland Painter Harrison Bird Brown form an exhibit currently on view at the Portland Museum of Art. From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and the White Mountains to the Alps, Brown’s views both capture and communicate an abiding love for nature along with a fascination for humankind’s place within it.

Title: Harrison B. Brown on the porch of the Glen House, near Gorham, New Hampshire, circa 1871-1884, Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Brown is at the right, and Charles R. Milliken, the proprietor of the Glen House, is third from the left with his elbow resting on the rocking chair.
Image Courtesy: Portland Museum of Art, Maine

Throughout the second half of the 19th century Harrison Bird Brown was the most prolific professional landscape artist in Portland, Maine. His subject matter spanned local maritime and rural subjects to include views from exploration of Mount Desert, the Canadian Maritimes, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Europe.

.
Title: View of Captain John Brown Coyle's House, before 1861
Artist: Harrison Bird Brown (American 1831-1915)
Medium: Oil on Canvas on Panel
Dimensions: 28 1/2 x 42 3/4"
Gift of the estate of Blanche Coyle Newhall, 1973.21
Permanent Collection & Image Courtesy: Portland Museum of Art, Maine

Brown's early career focused on local scenes but his portfolio expanded. In the 1860s the artist specialized in what were termed “homestead” portraits of the birthplaces or current homes of prominent men, such as View of the J. B. Coyle House (circa 1860s), depicting a fashionable home in Portland’s Back Cove neighborhood.

Title: Sailing on Casco Bay, n.d.
Artist: Harrison Bird Brown (American 1831-1915)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 13 1/8 x 25 1/8
Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum Purchase, Drummond Memorial Fund, 1982.178
Permanent Collection & Image Courtesy: Portland Museum of Art, Maine

Harrison Bird Brown is best remembered for his 'pure' landscapes such as scenes of water crashing on a rocky coast.

Exhibition Schedule: Portland Museum of Art, Maine: March 10 - September 9, 2007

Portland Museum of Art at www.portlandmuseum.org