History:This is a three quarter full painting of the subject. He is standing with his left hand on his hip and his right hand is extended and rests on a piece of furniture. He is wearing a black suit with a vest, white shirt and black tie. There is extensive overpainting on the face, suit and background of the painting. It is believed that this painting was done about 1850 when the subject was appointed as Minister to Russia.
Notes:Neill Smith Brown (1810-1886),of Scotch-Irish descent was born in Giles County,TN . He studied on his own and taught school in Giles COunty to finance his college education. He was admitted to the bar in 1834. He enlisted in the 1st Tennessee in the Seminole War. His excellent rhetoric contributed to Whig campaigns in the 1840s. After serving in the state legislature for six years, he was elected governor in 1847. His administration was a time of political frenzy and also of change, seeing the advent of the telegraph and a law to provide for public schools. The law proved ineffective as implementation was left to local governments and nothing came of the effort. Brown lost his bid for re-election, but he did not retire from public life. He served as minister to Russia, as a member of the legislature, and as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1870. He died in 1886. Tennessee Blue Book
