20th Century California Impressionism
Art Gallery
Benjamin Chambers Brown
Benjamin Chambers Brown was born on July 14th of 1865 and passed away on January 19th of 1942. He grew up Little Rock Arkansas and was trained to be a photographer. He attended the university of Tennessee he even studied for some time in Paris during the 1890s. After being taught by famous French painter Jean-Paul Laurens, Brown was inspired to open an art school in Little Rock. Later on in his life, he moved to Pasadena where he spent his time painting based on California. By the age of 76, Brown passed away due to pneumonia.
Brown specialized in still life & portraiture, once he moved to Pasadena in the early 1900s brown began to receive recognition for his paintings of California poppies. As brown received more recognition the demand for his work increased as well as his success, by 1915 he had solo art exhibitions in the Los Angeles county Museum of Art, and participated in many groups such as the Pasadena society of artist , California Art Club and the Chicago society of Etchers. His involvement with organizations in California assisted him very much in recognition and success.
Brown's paintings depicts California's landscapes, and California's wilderness during the 20th century. For instance, in his painting known as "Golden Poppies" depicts the beauty of nature and the landscape as shown through the golden poppies. Just like the other artists, Brown's use of color in his paintings gave an aesthetically image or impression of the real topic. He mostly uses bright colors to depict the image he is painting. An example is his painting known as "A California Autumn" uses these bright colors to show the audience how autumn looks in a California landscape.
Brown's art fits with the theme of our art gallery because of the way he expressed his feelings through his art pieces. Like the other artists, he used bright colors and thin brushing strokes to give his paintings the image and moment he experienced. Like the other artists, he painted what he loved and that the nature of California's Landscapes during this era. An example of this was his love for Pasadena as he was the first to produce paintings based on the city.