Charles De Wolf Brownell
American, 1822 - 1909
BiographyCharles De Wolf Brownell was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on 6 February 1822, but at the age of two, his family moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Brownell studied law, and was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1843. He served as a barrister for ten years, but after a debilitating congestive attack of the lungs, he decided to pursue a career in the arts. He trained locally, studying in Hartford for an unknown period with Julius Theodore Busch (1821-1858) and Joseph C. Ropes (1812-1885), both landscape painters and noted teachers of drawing. Brownell maintained a studio in Hartford until 1860, when he left for New York City. Brownell exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1861-2 and 1864-5, and at the Brooklyn Art Association in 1863. He quickly grew acquainted with a number o the artists associated with the Hudson River School, including John F. Kensett, Thomas P. Rossiter, and especially Frederic Edwin Church, who became a life-long friend of Brownell.
Brownell seems to have stopped exhibiting after 1865. This may be explained by the fact that immediately after the Civil War, Brownell and his fiancée, Henrietta Pierce, left New York for Bristol, Rhode Island, and were married shortly thereafter. Brownell remained based in Bristol until 1871, when he and his family left for a seven-year excursion to Europe. The Brownells returned to Bristol in 1878, but Brownell continued traveling until the last years of his life. In the 1880s, he toured the Caribbean, and in 1888, he made a visit to Church at Olana, Church's famous estate in Hudson, New York. In the 1890s, Brownell traveled to Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Chile. He only slowed down in 1908, after over sixty years of constant traveling. He died the following year, in 1909.
Brownell seems to have stopped exhibiting after 1865. This may be explained by the fact that immediately after the Civil War, Brownell and his fiancée, Henrietta Pierce, left New York for Bristol, Rhode Island, and were married shortly thereafter. Brownell remained based in Bristol until 1871, when he and his family left for a seven-year excursion to Europe. The Brownells returned to Bristol in 1878, but Brownell continued traveling until the last years of his life. In the 1880s, he toured the Caribbean, and in 1888, he made a visit to Church at Olana, Church's famous estate in Hudson, New York. In the 1890s, Brownell traveled to Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Chile. He only slowed down in 1908, after over sixty years of constant traveling. He died the following year, in 1909.
Person TypeIndividual
American, 1839 - 1923
Cape Verdean, 1924 - 2005
American, 1743 - 1804