A Yellowstone Geyser

Established in 1872as the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone became a popular destination for wealthy tourists in the 1880s. Courting these potential buyers, Brown distributed a promotional brochure promising paintings with “all the truths in color of that famous locality, together with such artistic effect as will make them appreciable to all who have visited.” The first professional African American artist on the West Coast, Brown left a career as a lithographer in San Francisco in order to paint the landscapes of the West and Pacific Northwest.