Dr.+William+Henry+Holmes

Date: n.d.
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1940/1940.11.12_1a.jpg?itok=GZZ4dEUO width="229" height="296" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/dr-william-henry-holmes-2776"]] || Title : **Dr. William Henry Holmes**

Artist: **Nicholas R. Brewer** Born: High Forest, Minnesota 1857 Died: St. Paul, Minnesota 1949

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 34 1/4 x 44 1/8 in. (87.0 x 112.0 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Mrs. Nicholas Webster, Renwick Gallery

Accession: 1940.11.12 || First hired by the Smithsonian in 1871, topographical illustrator William Henry Holmes was well known for paintings that were described as "orgies of pure color." His knowledge of geology, archaeology, anthropology, and ethnology made him a master in the scientific documentation of landscapes. His achievements included important publications on Indian cultures in prehistory and on Mayan civilization at Chichen Itza. In an impressive combination of art and science, Holmes was curator of anthropology for the Smithsonian (1897-1932) while also serving as curator and director of the emerging National Gallery of Art (1906-1932), now the National Museum of American Art.
 * About William Henry Holmes: **

A prominent 19th century portrait and landscape painter in Minnesota, New York and Texas, Nicholas Brewer was born in Olmstead County, Minnesota and was raised on a farm along the Root River in southeastern Minnesota. He was a student in New York of Dwight Tryon and Charles Noel Flagg at the National Academy of Design where he also exhibited. He painted a crucifixion in the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota as well as portraits of many prominent persons in his native state.
 * About Nicholas R. Brewer: **

Exhibition venues include the Minnesota State Art Society, the Minneapolis Art Institute, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">He was a member of the American Federation of Arts, the California Art Club and the Salmagundi Club.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Brewer wrote an autobiography, "Trails of a Paintbrush," published in 1938. It describes his life growing up in rural Minnesota, his travels to St. Paul and later to New York, and his attempts to provide for his family, including artist son Adrian, while becoming a renowned artist. Additionally, it contains Brewer's insights into the art world of late nineteenth century American and the process by which cultural institutions and patronage spread across the nation.


 * Resources: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">SAAM Collections Page
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Links: **