Terry and I have just received the limited first edition printing of our book, Charles DeWolf Brownell, the First American Landscape Painter in Cuba, and have made it available for purchase and comment at https://charlesdewolfbrownell.com.

The book focuses on the artist’s years in Cuba from 1853 to 1860, as well as other biographical content.  After remaining in the family for four generations, Brownell’s written diaries have been transcribed and paired up with artwork from his picture “logs”—a total of 400 illustrations, which include his sketches, watercolors, and oils, along with images provided by galleries, museums, auction houses, and private collections. This publication has been decades in the making and celebrates the Bicentennial of Brownell’s birth in 1822.  From an exhibition catalog entitled Charles DeWolf Brownell, A Decade of Travel, 1856-66, Zachary D. Ross of Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., wrote:

Landscape painter Charles DeWolf Brownell is one of the least known and most underappreciated American artists of the mid-nineteenth century.  From the early 1850’s through the mid-1860s—the period during which landscape painting rose to prominence in America—Brownell sketched and painted some of the most distinctive scenery of any American artist.

Further quotes about the book

What an amazing publication!  You should be applauded for painstakingly matching Brownell’s written words to his visual logs a decade later. This has to be an exceedingly rare art-historical pairing. How exciting!                      
            Eric Baumgartner, Senior Vice President, Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., New York

This is a fascinating journey to a bygone era of Cuban history that deserves greater attention. The magnificent drawings of this young mid-19^th century New Englander bring to life the poetic beauty of the Cuban countryside and its way of life with unparalleled artistry.

             Alberto R. Coll, DePaul University, Chicago