The Story of Grafton Tyler Brown, Pioneer Artist

In February, the Royal British Columbia Museum acquired an 1883 oil painting of the entrance to Victoria Harbour by American artist, lithographer and cartographer Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918).

The canvas was used as part of the museum’s collaboration with the University of Victoria during February, Black History Month.

Entitled “Go West Young Man,” an accompanying lecture explored Brown’s career and his relevance as a painter today.

One art auction listed him as “the first black painter in California. He was the only known black lithographer in America during his time, and in San Francisco he was considered the most artful. He later went on to have a successful career as a landscape painter travelling throughout California and the Pacific Northwest.”

The newly-acquired canvas Entrance to the Harbour is said to be among the RBC’s highlights of the more than seven million objects in its possession.

Next week, the story of Grafton Tyler Brown, pioneer artist, in the Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Black American painter Grafton Tyler Brown staged what’s believed to have been Victoria’s first art exhibition in 1883. —Wikipedia