Nicholas Richard Brewer (1857 - 1949) American Oil on Board with Museum Glass Measure 5 3/4"in H x 11 3/4"in W and 9"in H x 15"in W with frame Known for: Landscape and portrait painting of prominent persons Biography: A prolific landscape and portrait artist, Nicholas Brewer traveled to some twenty states to exhibit his paintings and attract commissions. Born in rural Minnesota, Brewer gained early training in nearby Rochester before studying with Dwight Tryon and Charles Noel Flagg in New York City. He later set up a studio in St. Paul, which remained home base for the rest of his long career. Brewer's landscape paintings range from moody Tonalist scenes of woods and rivers, to more highly-keyed, Impressionist-influenced works with particular sensitivity to seasonal effects. As a mature portraitist, he worked in Washinton, D.C., Arkansas, Ohio, Texas, and other states. His sitters for portraits included musician Maude Powell, actor Joseph Jefferson, Senator Frank B. Kellogg, and Archbishop John Ireland, as well as countless local politicians and socialites. His best portraits are marked by loosely-brushed backgrounds and settings, focusing attention on more firmly modeled faces and hands. Brewer recounted his exploits in a rambling and gossipy autobiography, Trails of a Paintbrush. Several of his sons were also professional artists; the best known is Edward V. Brewer, creator of the popular early-twentieth-century Cream of Wheat advertising illustrations.