William “Bill” Patton Brown was born in 1904 in Clearfield, the son of Elbert and Harriet Eleanor (Bowers) Brown. He lived most of his life here.
After attending design school in New York City, he moved to Florida, joining the Ringling Brothers Circus.
The famous circus capitalized on Brown’s talent by sending him to an art illustration school where he became proficient in making signs, posters, banners and backdrops for the circus. He continued work for Ringling Brothers until the late 1930’s.
Brown moved home to Clearfield where he continued painting for the joy of art as well as advertising work for local businesses.
Brown enjoyed painting horses, especially Arabians. He liked visiting the Fink and Mapes farms as well as sites throughout Pennsylvania, taking photos for reference in his works.
He did several paintings depicting scenes from the Clearfield County Fair. He was supervisor of the Fair Art Show for many years.
Brown died in 1980.
