Portrait of William Y. Brown

Object number86.1.179

Date1859

MediumOil on canvas

Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Paul J. Baum

DescriptionFramed oil painting. Oval portrait of man wearing black jacket, god-green colored vest with print, white shirt with gold buttons and large collar, and a blue bow tie. Frame is goldcolored and ornate with four large flowers.Dimensions31.4999 x 28.4999 in. (80 x 72.4 cm)
SignedI.N. Glogger. 1859 in field above subject's left s
InscriptionsSignature I.N. Glogger. 1859 Painted Above L shoulder
Marksnone
Historical NotesWilliam Y. Brown was married to Olive Winebiddle. He was killed in the explosion of the SS Pennsylvania on June 13,1858 near Memphis, TN. Their only child, Susanna Winebiddle Brown, married Wiliam Winebiddle Baum. This painting was a bequest to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania from the estate of Mrs. Paul J. (Helen) Baum. Paul J. Baum was the grandson of William Y. Brown. Label TextSteamboat pilot William Y. Brown was one of many Americans who paid a high price for the power of steam. Between 1830 and 1870, steamboat explosions killed more than 2,000 people. Brown, a Pittsburgh area native, died when the steamboat Pennsylvania exploded near Memphis in 1858. The explosion killed hundreds of people, including Samuel Clemens’ brother Henry. (Samuel Clemens was the author Mark Twain.) Pilots such as Brown knew the risk, but followed the lure of high profits that could be made on the river.

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