ATTRIBUTED TO TOM BROWN (1884-1947), PLEASANT HILL, TENNESSEE, FIRST HALF 20TH CENTURY

Tom Brown (1884-1947), a native of Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, was educated at Pleasant Hill Academy, a school founded by the American Missionary Association that developed a renowned woodcarving program under the instruction of Margaret Campbell. Campbell taught Brown to carve and recognized his talent, encouraging him to study at the Art Institute of Chicago. Brown created highly refined wooden sculptures, primarily of nudes, and returned to Pleasant Hill after graduation to pursue his art. Shortly after his return, his alma mater commissioned him to create a portrait of the founder of Pleasant Hill Academy, Reverend Benjamin Dodge; this piece, carved in cherry, remains one of the few extant examples of Brown's work in the South. Several other woodcarvers who trained at Pleasant Hill Academy have been recognized for their work, including Polly Page, the acclaimed doll-maker. For further discussion about woodcarving in the Upper Cumberland Valley, see W. Calvin Dickinson and Michael E. Birdwell, "Made on the Mountain: Upper Cumberland Arts and Crafts," Rural Life and Culture in the Upper Cumberland (Lexington, 2004), pp. 246-273.