Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918) had a fascinating life. He was the first African-American professional artist known in California. He had a varied career, working as a mapmaker, a commercial artist with his own business, a draftsman for US Army Corps of Engineers, and at times when his finances permitted, he devoted himself to fine arts. He was both a printmaker and a painter. He has done numerous absolutely gorgeous paintings of the American West, Pacific Northwest, and even into Canada (having lived in Victoria, BC for a while). Most of his paintings are landscapes, a large number of which involve water.
Today I have chosen a lovely look down the Columbia RIver (which divides Washington from Oregon) at Mitchell Point on the Oregon side, east of Portland near Mount Hood.
Mitchell Point looking down the Columbia River (oil painting, 1887)
