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Brewer Family No family contributed more to the history of Arkansas art than the Brewer clan of Little Rock and elsewhere. That three generations of Brewers could make their livings as artists in Arkansas spoke well for the arts in a relatively small southern capital city. The earliest of the Brewer artists was Nicholas R. Brewer, who was born in . He became a well-established painter of portraits and landscapes and began exhibiting at the National Academy of Design in NewYork in .A resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, Brewer traveled widely, exposing his son Adrian to art and artists from around the world. Adrian developed his own interest in art at an early age. By age twelve Adrian had his own “artistic little studio,” with a desk, library, and drawing supplies.He was particularly fond of drawing horses,and he kept a diary of his daily visits to a local blacksmith shop so he could draw horses. His father treated Adrian as a serious student, and he admonished, “When you can draw the human figure as faithfully as you can draw a horse, you’ll be all right.” In , Adrian entered the University of Minnesota, where he studied art. At the same time, he began studies at the Art Institute of St.Paul,and later he studied for a short time at the Art Students League in New York. Jolynda Hammock Halinski, author of the entry on Adrian Brewer in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, wrote that “he learned more about art from some of his father’s associates than from his classes.” After graduation, Adrian returned to St. Paul, where he taught at local art institutes before opening a commercial art studio in Minneapolis. He had major clients, including Pillsbury. His work in commercial art had a substantial impact on his later work as a painter. During World War I, Adrian enlisted in the army, where he was soon painting patriotic posters, cartoons, and other works. After his military service, Adrian joined his father as business manager and  assistant, a role he played on and off for years. He also continued his own painting, and he won many awards in St. Paul competitions. Adrian and his father came to Arkansas in , when the Art Association of Little Rock sponsored an exhibit of Nicholas’s work. While in Little Rock, Nicholas received several commissions, and he took his son with him to Hot Springs, where they set up a studio in the Eastman Hotel. While in Hot Springs, Adrian met Miss Edwina Cook, whom he married in . After his marriage,Adrian made another foray into the commercial art business, before tiring of it and resolving to be a professional artist. Again, he worked for his father, using the time to hone his own skills at landscape painting. In  Adrian made a splash in the art world by winning the huge $, Edgar B. Davis Prize for his painting of Texas bluebonnet landscapes. The painting is in the holdings of the Witte Museum in San Antonio. An example of this “bluebonnet period” is a large painting held by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System in downtown Little Rock. The Davis Prize resulted in numerous commissions and financial gain,butAdrian was fearful of becoming known as a “flower painter,” so he traveled to New Mexico, where he produced  landscape paintings. Fortunately, Adrian Brewer spent a great deal of time painting Arkansas scenes.He often painted from mountaintops,such as Petit Jean Mountain. He also found a steady stream of clients wanting portraits, including U.S.Sen.Joseph T.Robinson.The Robinson portrait was later hung in the state capitol. He painted portraits of more than three hundred Arkansans during his long life. Commissions in Washington and New York also helped the Brewer family survive the Great Depression. Brewer painted many Arkansas landscapes during the s and s, often from atop Petit Jean Mountain in Conway County. Biographer Halinski wrote that Brewer’s Arkansas paintings went beyond his usual “quasi-impressionist” style, “the light and colors changed less, and the natural detail is almost photographic; dabs of strong color indicate a more romantic approach to nature.” It was a painting of the U.S. flag just before the outbreak of World War II,however,that becameAdrian’s most famous work.Depicting an American flag hanging loosely from a pole, the painting is a majestic and inspiring interpretation that caught on immediately.Reproductions Brewer Family  [18.188...

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