John Lewis Brown was the descendant of an ancient Scots family that emigrated initially to Denmark before settling in the region of Bordeaux towards the end of the 18th century. It would appear that he was self-taught, having learnt to paint by studying and copying painters he admired, notably Eugène Delacroix. That said, it is conceivable that he was instructed by Roqueplan and Belloc. Above all and from an early age, Brown knew a great deal about racehorses, thanks to those kept on his parents' property. He also attended courses at the college in Haras du Pin, where he studied equine anatomy.
When the family fortunes were at a low ebb, Brown left for Paris, where he exhibited for the first time at the 1848 Salon. He did not exhibit there again until 1859, but subsequently participated in the Salon on a regular basis. In the interim, the French State had commissioned him to paint a copy of Rembrandt's Pilgrims at Emmaus housed in Copenhagen Museum. In 1890, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Dissidents held on the Champ de Mars. The Musée de Luxembourg later hosted a 1903 exhibition of his engravings and, to mark the centenary of his birth, a Paris gallery mounted a retrospective of his work which, it should be said, had come to be largely ignored or forgotten.
John Lewis Brown was first and foremost a horse painter who was considered something of a socialite by the artistic community in Paris and something of an artist by Parisian society. This 'double life' enabled him to be a privileged chronicler of a specific society at a specific point in time. But it is as a painter of horses and stable interiors that he will be remembered. His style contains echoes of Géricault, whom he greatly admired, whereas his hunt scenes are essentially painted 'in the English manner'. Notable among his work are paintings of riders, horses in the paddock and, no doubt influenced by Degas, racehorses and jockeys. Brown was part of MacMahon's retinue during the war of 1870, where he recorded battle scenes in all their tragic aspects, notably in compositions such as Reichshoffen; Episode from the Battle of Froeschwiler; Hohenlinden. Brown was content to 'dislocate' his horse scenes to the reign of Louis XV, but his painting style - and his bold brushwork in particular - owes much to the influence of the Impressionists.
Museum and Gallery Holdings
Bordeaux: Riding Out; Battle Scene; Head of Dog; Milkman
Mulhouse: Hitching Up; Hunt at Rest; Forest Scene
New York: Fox Hunting
Paris (Louvre): Ready for the Off
Rheims: Morning Ride
Tours: Episode from the Life of Marshal de Conflans; Copy of Rembrandt's 'Pilgrims at Emmaus’
Auction Records
Paris, 14 May 1873: Riding, FRF 1,410
Paris, 1883: Stop during a Cross-Country Ride, FRF 2,500
Paris, 1 April 1909: Episode from the Seven Years' War, FRF 5,000
Paris, 8-9 May 1941: Fleeing the Advancing Tide at Mont St-Michel, FRF 15,500
New York, 30 Nov 1943: Gathering for the Hunt (1885) USD 750
Paris, 17 Nov 1948: Banks of the Pond, FRF 40,000
Paris, 18 Dec 1950: Hunting Scene, FRF 33,000
Paris, 30 May 1967: At the Races, FRF 12,000
Zurich, 5 May 1972: Morning Ride, CHF 6,900
Paris, 13 May 1976: Hunting (1883, watercolour and gouache, 10 × 7 ins/25.5 × 18 cm) FRF 2,000
New York, 15 Oct 1976: New Horse (1876, oil on panel, 17¾ × 22 ins/45 × 55 cm) USD 1,300
Paris, 23 March 1977: Rider Saddling his Mount (1886, oil on panel, 13 × 17 ins/33 × 43 cm) FRF 53,000
Paris, 1 March 1979: Encounter on the Cliffs (1872, oil on canvas, 18 × 22 ins/46 × 55 cm) FRF 23,000
Paris, 6 March 1979: Riders at Rest (1879, watercolour and gouache, 13¾ × 9½ ins/35 × 24 cm) FRF 5,000
Paris, 29 April 1981: Horseman in Louis XV Attire (1886, oil on panel, 14¼ × 23½ ins/36 × 60 cm) FRF 48,000
Versailles, 13 Dec 1987: Arrival of the Horseman (oil on panel, 12¾ × 9¼ ins/32.5 × 23.5 cm) FRF 13,000
Calais, 28 Feb 1988: Civil Exchange outside the Inn (oil on panel, 13 × 9½ ins/33 × 24 cm) FRF 23,000
Paris, 29 April 1988: Riders at Rest (1878, oil on canvas) FRF 15,000
Paris, 30 May 1988: Riders by the River (oil on panel, 4 × 7 ins/10 × 18 cm) FRF 6,800
Paris, 23 June 1988: Cavalryman (oil on canvas, 39¼ × 32 ins/100 × 81 cm) FRF 13,000
Paris, 7 July 1988: Horses and Fowl (1879, oil on panel, 9¼ × 7 ins/23.5 × 18 cm) FRF 15,000
Versailles, 23 Oct 1988: Rendezvous in the Park (1876, oil on canvas, 17¾ × 22 ins/45 × 55 cm) FRF 34,000
Calais, 13 Nov 1988: Riders by the River (oil on panel, 4¼ × 7 ins/11 × 18 cm) FRF 19,000
Paris, 19 June 1989: Barouche (oil/panel, 9 × 6¼ ins/22 × 16 cm) FRF 17,500
Versailles, 19 Nov 1989: Hunter and Two Basset Hounds (1860, oil on panel, 9¼ × 7¼ ins/23.5 × 18.5 cm) FRF 15,000
Versailles, 18 March 1990: Halt (1879, oil on panel, 16¼ × 12½ ins/41 × 32 cm) FRF 29,000
Troyes, 20 May 1990: Riders and Sedan Chair (oil on canvas, 16¼ × 12½ ins/41 × 32 cm) FRF 33,000
New York, 23 May 1990: Riders Scouting the Terrain (1889, oil on canvas, 28¼ × 35½ ins/72 × 90 cm) USD 27,500
Paris, 14 Nov 1990: Elegant Lady in a Park (oil on panel, 6 × 3¾ ins/15 × 9.5 cm) FRF 8,000
Paris, 27 Nov 1991: Military Encampment (oil on canvas, 13 × 18 ins/33 × 46 cm) FRF 15,000
Monaco, 6 Dec 1991: Hunter (1872, oil on canvas, 17¾ × 14½ ins/45 × 37 cm) FRF 22,200
London, 17 Nov 1993: The Off (oil on panel, 11¾ × 9 ins/30 × 23 cm) GBP 8,510
New York, 3 June 1994: Before the Off (1889, oil on canvas, 52¾ × 31 ins/134 × 78.7 cm) USD 24,150
Paris, 17 June 1994: Ford (1878, oil on panel, 13¾ × 12¼ ins/35 × 31 cm) FRF 15,000
Deauville, 19 Aug 1994: The Off (oil on panel, 11¾ × 9 ins/30 × 23 cm) FRF 90,000
Paris, 18 Nov 1994: Still-life with Armour (watercolour, 7¾ × 11¼ ins/19.5 × 28.5 cm) FRF 9,000
London, 10 Feb 1995: Instruction (1889, oil on canvas, 27¾ × 21½ ins/70.8 × 54.7 cm) GBP 3,450
New York, 23 May 1996: Bois de Boulogne (oil on canvas, 25¾ × 36¼ ins/65.4 × 92 cm) USD 79,500
New York, 11 April 1997: Country Trail (1857, oil on canvas, 71 × 47 ins/180.3 × 119.4 cm) USD 16,100
Paris, 12 Dec 1997: Hunting Scene (oil on panel, 9¾ × 13¾ ins/25 × 35 cm) FRF 50,000
Paris, 16 March 1998: Riders (1888) FRF 25,500
Paris, 1 April 1998: Ford (painting/panel, 14¼ × 12½ ins/36 × 31.5 cm) FRF 12,000
Paris, 30 April 1999: Great Manoeuvres (1884, pastel, 53 × 30 ins/134 × 77 cm) FRF 48,000
London, 1 Dec 1999: Out Hunting (oil on canvas, 40 × 40 ins/102 × 102 cm) GBP 5,500
Norwalk, 2 Jan 2000: Fox Hunt (oil on canvas, 34 × 58 ins/86 × 147 cm) USD 3,750
Calais, 12 March 2000: Lunch in the Coaching Inn (1875, oil on panel, 9 × 13 ins/24 × 32 cm) FRF 24,000
Deauville, 17 Aug 2001: Blacksmith (oil on canvas, 32 × 26 ins/81 × 65 cm) FRF 95,000
Paris, 16 Nov 2001: Rider and Horses (pastel, 19 × 36 ins/47 × 92 cm) FRF 60,000
Neuilly, 28 March 2003: Ready for Hunting (oil on canvas, 12 × 22 ins/30 × 55 cm) EUR 6,800
Geneva, 16 Nov 2003: Heads of Horses (1881, oil on canvas, 36 × 29 ins/92 × 73 cm) CHF 2,400
Paris, 16 June 2004: Steeple-chase (1860, oil on canvas, 7 × 14 ins/18 × 36 cm) EUR 10,200
Paris, 16 June 2004: Pause in Hunting with Hounds (oil on canvas, 6 × 16 ins/16 × 41 cm) EUR 11,200
