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Vividly True to Nature:
Harrison Bird Brown, 1831-1915
March 10 - September 9, 2007
Vividly True to
Nature: Harrison Bird Brown, 1831-1915, featuring
42 paintings and two works on paper, is the first retrospective of the work
of
late-19th-century landscape painter
Harrison Bird Brown. From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and the White
Mountains to the Alps, Brown's scenes capture and communicate an abiding
love for nature along with a fascination for humankind's place within it.
The exhibition will demonstrate this Portland, Maine native's diverse and
prodigious skills while providing a window into the cultural landscape of
the 19th century. Vividly True to Nature: Harrison Bird Brown, 1831-1915
will be on view March 10 through September 9, 2007 at the Portland Museum
of Art. (right: Harrison Bird Brown (United States, 1831-1915), A
Recollection of Italy: View of Isola Bella from Stresa, circa 1880,
oil on canvas, 15 1/16 x 28 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift
of Roger and Katherine Woodman, 1967.1)
Throughout the second half of the 19th century, Harrison
Bird Brown was the most prolific professional landscape artist in Portland,
Maine. He drew his subject matter from local maritime and rural subjects,
but also from his travels to Mount Desert, the Canadian Maritimes, the White
Mountains of New Hampshire, and Europe.
Brown began his career in the fine arts with local scenes,
such as View of the Forest City Sugar Refinery (1860), which testify
to the rising economic strength of New England towns and document the industrial
landscape of the time. Key to these works is a pride of place and a desire
to help establish civic character. Around this same time, he also marketed
his skills to well-to-do Portland citizens who wanted a portrait of their
home or landholdings. Throughout the 1860s he 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.
Despite Brown's skill in urban scenes, he would eventually
become best known for more pure landscapes. Brown maintained a home and
studio on Cushing
Island in Portland's
Casco Bay, where he saw and painted dramatic scenes of surf crashing on
the rocky coast (Approaching Storm, Maine Coast, circa 1870). Responding
to an enthusiasm for this kind of scene on the part of the art-buying public,
Brown was incredibly prolific, saturating the local market with small-scale
scenes based upon this formula. But even while producing these mass-market
images, Brown worked on extremely ambitious and technically accomplished
compositions. His Camping at Grand Manan with the W.H. Pratt of Boston
Offshore (1870), a scene in New Brunswick, is among his largest and
most impressive maritime-themed works, as are two monumental views of Cushing
Island recently purchased by the Portland Museum of Art and conserved in
preparation for this exhibition. (right: Harrison Bird Brown (United
States, 1831-1915), Camping on Grand Manan with the W.H. Pratt of Boston
Offshore, 1870, oil on canvas, 20 _ x 36 1/8 inches. 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 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)
Frequent summer sketching trips to the White Mountains
of New Hampshire resulted in numerous views of the majestic landscape and
burgeoning tourist industry in that part of New England. Two of Brown's
White Mountains compositions-The Heart of the Notch (1890) and Mt.
Washington from Frankenstein (not dated)-were reproduced as widely distributed
lithographs, testifying to Brown's role in the area's increasing popularity.
A centerpiece of this section of this exhibition is a large 1880 view of
Tuckerman's Ravine in the Presidential Range, showing the looming dark mountain
dwarfing travelers
on a mountain
path. This recent gift to the Portland Museum of Art was recently conserved
and will be on public display for the first time in this exhibition.
Brown also traveled far outside of New England. A trip
to Europe in 1871 would provide subject matter for him for the rest of his
career. From sketches made in England, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy,
Brown produced delightful studio paintings after his return to the United
States. A Recollection of Italy: View of Isola Bella was painted
around 1874, depicting an island in Lake Maggiore, in the north of Italy.
The poetic portrayal of the temple ruins and the quaint town recall Brown's
early talent for architectural subjects and urban landscapes while embracing
an international interest in classical antiquity. (right: Harrison
Bird Brown (United States, 1831-1915), View of Captain John Brown Coyle's
House, before 1861, oil on board, 28 _ x 42 _ inches, Portland Museum
of Art, Maine. Gift of the estate of Blanche Coyle Newhall, 1973.21)
Brown continued to paint landscapes into the earliest years
of the 20th century, producing both large-scale, dramatic compositions as
well as intimate, gem-like cabinet pictures. Brown experimented freely with
color, with his grisaille composition of a river dam and train trestle standing
in stark contrast to the lush hues of a painting like Landscape at Sunset
(both undated). The latter connects Brown to great colorists like Frederic
Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt, and also anticipates Impressionism with
its painterly treatment of the sky and haystacks.
This exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated publication
with contributions from Jessica Skwire Routhier, Associate Curator at the
Portland Museum of Art, and Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Director of the
Maine Historic Preservation Commission and a longtime scholar of Brown's
work. The publication will be available in the Museum Store beginning in
March 2007.

(above: Harrison Bird Brown (United States, 1831-1915),
Untitled [White Head, Cushing Island], circa 1890s, oil on canvas,
50 x 34 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support
from the Director's and Curators' Hamill Acquisition Fund, 2006.5.2)
Checklist for the exhibition
-
- All works are by Harrison Bird Brown (United States, 18311915).
Dimensions are in inches, height preceding width.
-
- 1. Approaching Storm, Maine Coast, circa 1870
- oil on canvas
- 10 _ x 20 1/4
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of the artist, 1911.1
-
- 2. Barn Interior, 1880s
- oil on canvas
- 18 x 30 1/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Reverend George Monks, Commander
John P. Monks and Mrs. Constantine A. Pertzoff, 1944.6
-
- 3. The Benjamin Homestead, Livermore, Maine, 1883
- oil on canvas
- 24 15/16 x 48 1/4
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1962.5
-
- 4. By the Sea Shore, undated
- oil on canvas
- 10 _ x 17 1/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1961.10
-
- 5. Camp by the Shore, undated
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 25
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1962.4
-
- 6. Camping on Grand Manan with the W.H. Pratt of Boston Offshore,
1870
- oil on canvas
- 20 _ x 36 1/8
- 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
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
-
- 7. Cliffs in a Storm, 1879
- oil on canvas
- 25 1/4 x 15 1/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Harriet B. Creager, 1923.10
-
- 8. Coastal View (Portland Harbor), undated
- oil on canvas
- 9 x 18
- Collection of Barbara and Seth Rosenzweig
-
- 9. Diamond Cove, Great Diamond Island, Casco Bay, Maine, 1863
- oil on canvas
- 14 x 24
- Collection of Roger Berle
-
- 10. Farm through the Trees, undated
- oil on canvas
- 12 _ x 20
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Roger and Katherine Woodman,
1982.192
-
- 11. Farmhouse on Great Chebeague Island, Casco Bay, 1888
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 25
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Morton C. Bradley, Jr., 1969.9
-
- 12. The Fletcher Family Homestead, 1865
- oil on canvas
- {measurements}
- Lent by the Family of William V. K. Fletcher II
-
- 13. Fog at White Head, after 1885
- oil on canvas
- 14 x 25
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Haldeman Winant,
1992.33
-
- 14. Franconia Notch, undated
- oil on canvas on masonite
- 12 15/16 x 10 13/16
- Colby College Museum of Art. Gift of the Honorable Roderic H. D. Henderson,
1968.009
-
- 15. The Gull's Roost, circa 1879
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 13 1/4
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Harriet B. Creager, 1923.9
-
- 16. Headlands, undated
- oil on canvas
- 13 _ x 25
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1961.9
-
- 17. The Heart of the Notch: White Mountains of New Hampshire,
1890
- photogravure on wove paper
- 11 9/16 x 20 1/8 (image)
- 20 _ x 27 _ (paper)
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from Roger
and Katherine Woodman, 1981.1102
-
- 18. Hull's Cove, Mt. Desert, 1864
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 42
- Bar Harbor Historical Society
-
- 19. Landscape at Sunset, undated
- oil on canvas
- 8 _ x 18
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John C. A. Brady, 1965.1
-
- 20. Mominy, 1854
- oil on canvas
- 26 x 36
- Colby College Museum of Art. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ellerton M. Jette,
1965.024
-
- 21. Mount Washington from Frankenstein, 1890
- photolithograph on paper
- 12 _ x 19 _ (image)
- 14 9/16 x 21 7/16 (paper)
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum collection, P44
-
- 22. Mt. Washington from the Intervale, 1860s
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 28 _
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl McSherry Hyde,
Jr., Bethesda, Maryland, 2000.55.2
-
- 23. Natural Pool, 1860s
- oil on canvas
- 12 _ x 24 _
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Elizabeth B. Noyce, 1996.38.5
-
- 24. Norlands Homestead, Livermore, Maine, circa 1883
- oil on canvas
- 30 x 58
- Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1983, 83.8
-
- 25. Nova Scotia Headlands, 1867
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 24 7/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Harriet B. Creager, 1923.8
-
- 26. A Recollection of Italy: View of Isola Bella from Stresa,
circa 1880
- oil on canvas
- 15 1/16 x 28
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Roger and Katherine Woodman,
1967.1
-
- 27. Saco River, Maine, 1865
- oil on canvas
- 11 _ x 19 _
- Collection of Barbara and Seth Rosenzweig
-
- 28. Sailing on Casco Bay, undated
- oil on canvas
- 13 1/8 x 25 1/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum Purchase, Drummond Memorial Fund,
1982.178
-
- 29. Seascape, circa 18601880
- oil on ivory
- 2 _ x 4
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Bequest of Elizabeth B. Noyce, 1996.38.6
-
- 30. Sketching Party in a Grove, undated
- oil on canvas
- 18 x 14
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1961.6
-
- 31. Shore at Kennebunkport Near Blowing Cove, undated
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 25
- Lent by Dan and Anna Fitzgerald
-
- 32. Standing Rocks, undated
- oil on canvas
- 13 _ x 25
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. John Hutchinson Hyde, 1961.8
-
- 33. Tuckerman's Ravine from the Glen Road, 1880
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 30
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl McSherry Hyde,
Jr., Bethesda, Maryland, 2000.55.1
-
- 34. Untitled Marine with Disabled French Ship, undated
- oil on board
- 13 3/8 x 9 1/8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Henry E. Olsen Jr. in memory
of Blanche L. Wheeler Olsen, 1977.153
-
- 35. Untitled [possibly the Jungfrau from the Kleine Scheidigg],
1866
- oil on canvas
- 25 x 42
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Mrs. Louis L. Hills, Jr. in
memory of Mrs. Louis L. Hills , Sr. and Mr. Louis L. Hills, Jr., 1973.20
-
- 36. Untitled [river dam & train trestle], circa 18851890
- oil on canvas
- 23 x 16
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Raymond Demers, 1985.322
-
- 37. Untitled, circa 1890s
- oil on canvas
- 49 1/2 x 33 3/4
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from the
Director's and Curators' Hamill Acquisition Fund, 2006.5.1
-
- 38. Untitled [White Head, Cushing Island], circa 1890s
- oil on canvas
- 50 x 34
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from the
Director's and Curators' Hamill Acquisition Fund, 2006.5.2
-
- 39. Untitled Landscape, 1880s
- oil on canvas
- 12 x 20
- Lent by Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr.
-
- 40. View of Captain John Brown Coyle's House, before 1861
- oil on board
- 28 _ x 42 _
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of the estate of Blanche Coyle
Newhall, 1973.21
-
- 41. View of Isola Dei Pescatori from Stresa, 1880
- oil on canvas
- 30 1/16 x 22 1/16
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from Roger
and Katherine Woodman, 1986.13
-
- 42. View of the F.O.J. Smith House, Portland, 188081
- oil on canvas
- 18 x 30
- Lent by the City of Portland, 2.1977.2
-
- 43. View of the Forest City Sugar Refinery, Portland, from Across
the Fore River, circa 1860
- oil on canvas
- 13 x 24 1/8
- Lent by The City of Portland, 2.1977.3
-
- 44. View of Welch Mountain, New Hampshire, 1863
- oil on canvas
- 11 7/8 x 20 _
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Morton C. Bradley, Jr., 1976.229
-
-
- Archival/Ephemeral Material
-
- 1. letter from Harrison Bird Brown, London, to G. W. Morris, Portland,
dated Jan (or Jun) 18, no year (but post-1893). Portland Museum of Art
object files.
-
- 2. brochure produced for the inaugural exhibition of the Museum's L.
D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries, dedicated April 22, 1911. Portland Museum
of Art archives.
-
- 3. E. H. Elwell, Portland and Vicinity, 1876 (illustrations
by Harrison Bird Brown)
- Lent by Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr.
-
- 4. White Head, circa 1893
- postcard
- G. W. Morris, publisher
- Lent by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission
-
- 5. The Heart of the Notch, White Mountains, N.H., circa 1890
- postcard
- G. W. Morris, publisher
- Lent by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission
-
- 6. Conant (photographer, Portland, Maine)
- Harrison B. Brown, Artist, 1874
- photograph
- Lent by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission
-
- 7. Nine sketchbooks, Portland Museum of Art. Gift of the family of
Ethel Burrowes Morton, 1989.30.1-9
Editor's note: RL readers may also enjoy an image of Lake Maggiore including Isola Bella
from the TFAO photo library.
Read more information, articles and essays concerning this
institutional source by visiting the sub-index page for the Portland
Museum of Art in Resource Library.
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