Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876–1936)
Henry Francis Brown
BROWN, HENRY FRANCIS (1837–1912), inducted circa 1909
A wealthy capitalist with a passion for the cattle industry, Henry F. Brown participated in the foundation of the Saddle & Sirloin Club in Chicago and paid artist James Stuart’s commission to paint the first portraits for the “Sanctum Sanctorum” gallery of foundation breeders. Born in East Baldwin, Maine, Henry Brown moved to Minnesota in 1860 and invested heavily in timber land and mills. He then purchased iron ore mines and leased them to the US Steel Company. In 1867, Brown established a Shorthorn cattle farm near Minneapolis, and for fifty years, was one of the top breeders in the nation, serving three terms as president of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. Brown was also a principal investor in the North American Telegraph Company, president of the Union National Bank of Minneapolis, and an auto enthusiast and good roads advocate in the Minneapolis Automobile Club.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 53