Bolton Brown

Photographer unknown, Bolton Brown drawing a lithograph, 1925. Photograph courtesy of the Woodstock Historical Society.

A major figure in early twentieth century American lithography, Bolton Brown was both an artist and a master printer. In the latter category he was responsible for printing the lithographs of such major artists as George Bellows, Arthur B. Davies, John Sloan and Rockwell Kent. Bolton Brown believed, in fact, that the role of the printer was as creatively important as that of the artist and thus counter-signed all lithographs drawn by others. [He also printed the work of George William Eggers, and Charles E. Burchfield, J.J. Lankes, and William J. Schwanekamp got a lithography lesson from him in Woodstock as they traveled to Vermont to visit Robert Frost.]
 
Bolton Coit Brown studied art techniques at Syracuse University. Not long after his graduation he became an instructor of art at Cornell University and then accepted the position of Chairman of the Department of Drawing and Painting at Stanford University in California. He remained there for a period of eleven years, until his disputes with Jane Stanford concerning the use of nude models forced him to leave. In 1902 Bolton Brown (with the financial assistance of Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead) established the Byrdcliffe Artist's Colony, the first such colony for the arts in Woodstock, New York. He also began exhibiting his paintings and drawings extensively and was a participant in the famous 1913 Armory Show, New York.
 
Bolton Brown took up lithography later in his career. He was for the most part self-taught in this medium and produced his first lithograph around World War One (1914-1918). He introduced the medium to a number of contemporary American painters and was thus responsible for printing some of the finest works in the art of twentieth century lithography.
 
The majority of Brown's lithographs depict landscapes and in these works his utilization of light, atmosphere and texture is remarkable. During his career Brown exhibited his lithographs regularly at New York's Kleeman Galleries. Today his prints are included in the collections of the Library of Congress, University of Rochester, Georgetown University, the Brooklyn Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Interestingly the largest collection of Bolton Brown's art may be housed at the British Museum, London. This museum lists 337 works of art by Bolton Brown.

http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/brown_bolton_little_mountains.htm