The confident, stately, and beloved educator, museum collected painter and art-dealer Malcolm McLeod Brown died peacefully on October 1, 2020 at the age of 89.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia August 19, 1931, in a historic region on the south side of Freetown, with his parents Franklin and Dorothy Brown, and maternal grandparents, Jesse and Lucy Jackson. Freetown was settled by ex-slaves after 1863. They owned the land and thoughtfully and methodically created a community with businesses, schools and churches. Grandpa Jesse purchased the land and co-founded Piedmont Baptist Church—which is still a vibrant part of the community. Family names of those who made Freetown were Winston, Washington, Mills, Jackson, Brown, Wood and Tucker. This robust community and its history bore the legacy of Malcolm Brown.

Brown graduated from Albemarle Training School and then earned his bachelor’s degree at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia as a ROTC scholarship student. There he joined the distinguished fraternity, Omega Psi Phi in 1953 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in fine arts education in 1955. Brown was called to serve his active-duty commitment in the Army, during the Vietnam War stationed in Hannover, Germany.

While in Europe, he traveled throughout France, Austria, and Switzerland to experience the history of art and architecture first-hand. Upon completion of his service, Brown returned to the U.S. as faculty at Woodson High School in Hopewell, Virginia. During summer study at Boston University he met his intended, Ernestine T. Turner of Youngstown, Ohio. They married in November 1964 and moved to Cleveland where he earned his master’s degree in arts education from Case Western Reserve University.

Malcolm was a member of the esteemed American Watercolor Society, created a celebrated Jazz and Sisters series—shown in feature films, and received numerous prestigious art awards. His paintings are part of several permanent museum and corporate collections and was invited to group exhibitions across the country; taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art and ultimately retired after 32 years as tenured faculty at Shaker Heights High School.

Though teaching and painting were his passion, he and his wife, had a vision—that was to expand the conversation and active support for African American and Diasporan artists by mid-west collectors. In 1980, they opened Malcolm Brown Gallery, the first Black-owned fine art gallery in the country, which featured Brown’s work alongside Black artists of international prominence including Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, Horace Pippin, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith, Selma Burke, Moe Brooker, Lamar Briggs, Ed Dwight and others. In 1994, Malcolm and his wife received a special citation from the Cleveland Arts Prize for distinguished service to the arts.

Malcolm was not only a profoundly talented artist he was a wonderful husband, father and family man with a kind and generous spirit. He was a long time member of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, OH. His legacy has left an indelible imprint on his family and the city of Cleveland writ large—he will be truly missed.

He is survived by his wife Ernestine T. Brown, children Malcolm T. Brown (Vanessa) New York City; Jeffrey F. Brown (Los Angeles); and Rhonda K. Brown (Chicago); sister-in-law Yvonne J. Brown (Milton) Richmond; four grandchildren Avery J. Saffold (22) Isaac J. Saffold (15); Salma Brown (15); and Max D. Brown (14); nieces Kim Brown, Karla Brown, Kelly Brown Fraiser, Tanya Williams and Cheryl Turner Greene; nephew, Randy Turner; great nephews Jelani Fraiser and Bakari Fraiser; cousin the Reverend Virgil Wood (Lillian) and extended family throughout the country. He was preceded in death by Franklin Brown (father) and Dorothy Brown (Jackson) and his brother Milton Brown (Yvonne) of Richmond Virginia.

In lieu of flowers the family requests, donations may be made to the Malcolm Brown Legacy Fund for Visual Arts at the Cleveland Foundation. The fund will provide support for: scholarships to aspiring Black students in the visual arts/arts education, his beloved fraternity Omega Psi, and/or museums seeking to acquire works of art by emerging Black artists in their region.

To make a contribution click here: https://www.clevelandfoundation.org/give-now/ and select the Malcolm Brown Legacy Fund for Visual Arts from the drop down menu otherwise your donation will go to a general fund. Checks can also be sent to The Cleveland Foundation, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1300, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 with the fund name in the memo.

Cards and correspondence for the family should be sent to: 5105 S. Harper Ave #802 Chicago IL 60615 attention to Rhonda K. Brown

The Brown family is so grateful for your expressions of love and support during this time. Thank you.