Brown, Mrs. Agnes—Mrs. John Appleton Brown. Born in Newburyport. This artist paints in oils. Her subjects are landscapes, flowers, and still life. She has also painted cats successfully.
I have a winter landscape by Mrs. Brown which is unusually attractive and is often admired. She sends her works to the exhibitions of the Boston Art Club and to some exhibitions in New York.
Browne, Mme. Henriette. Born at Paris; 1829-1901. Pupil of Chaplin. The family name of this artist was Bouteiller, and she married M. Jules de Saux, but as an artist used the name of an ancestress. Her pictures of genre subjects very early attracted attention, especially in 1855, when she sent to the Salon "A Brother of the Christian School," "School for the Poor at Aix," "Mutual Instruction," and "Rabbits." Her works were popular and brought good prices. In 1868 "The Sisters of Charity" sold for £1,320.
In 1878 she exhibited "A Grandmother" and "Convalescence." Her Oriental scenes were much admired. Among these were "A Court in Damascus," "Nubian Dancing Girls," and a "Harem in Constantinople." Mme. Browne was also skilful as an engraver.
T. Chasrel wrote in L'Art: "Her touch without over-minuteness has the delicacy and security of a fine work of the needle. The accent is just without that seeking for virile energy which too often spoils the most charming qualities. The sentiment is discreet without losing its intensity in order to attract public notice. The painting of Mme. Henriette Browne is at an equal distance from grandeur and insipidity, from power and affectation, and gathers from the just balance of her nature some effects of taste and charm of which a parvenu in art would be incapable."
The late Rev. Charles Kingsley wrote of the picture of the "Sisters of Charity," of the sale of which I have spoken, as follows: "The picture which is the best modern instance of this happy hitting of this golden mean, whereby beauty and homely fact are perfectly combined, is in my eyes Henrietta Browne's picture of the 'Sick Child and the Sisters of Charity.' I know not how better to show that it is easy to be at once beautiful and true, if one only knows how, than by describing that picture. Criticise it, I dare not; for I believe that it will surely be ranked hereafter among the very highest works of modern art. If I find no fault in it, it is because I have none to find; because the first sight of the picture produced in me instantaneous content and confidence. There was nothing left to wish for, nothing to argue about. The thing was what it ought to be, and neither more nor less, and I could look on it, not as a critic, but as a learner only."
This is praise indeed from an Englishman writing of a Frenchwoman's picture—an Englishman with no temptation to say what he did not think; and we may accept his words as the exact expression of the effect the picture made on him.
Brune, Mme. Aimée Pagès. Medal of second class at Salon of 1831; first class in 1841. Born in Paris. 1803-66. Pupil of Charles Meynier. Painted historical and genre subjects. In 1831 she exhibited "Undine," the "Elopement," "Sleep," and "Awakening." In 1841 a picture of "Moses." She painted several Bible scenes, among which were the "Daughter of Jairus" and "Jephthah's Daughter."
Buechmann, Frau Helene. Her pictures have been seen at some annual exhibitions in Germany, but she is best known by her portraits of celebrated persons. Born in Berlin, 1849. Pupil of Steffeck and Gussow. Among her portraits are those of Princess Carolath-Beuthen, Countess Brühl, Prince and Princess Biron von Kurland, and the youngest son of Prince Radziwill. She resides in Brussels.