William Francis Brown Artisan Woodcarving
Wood
My furniture and carvings are all hand made by myself in my small shop located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have been making museum quality period-inspired furniture for over 40 years. My work has encompassed carved period furniture elements such as ball and claw feet, shells, cartouches, etc,. These skills led to my carving Bellamy eagles and other iconic early American pieces over the past 10 years. My work is historically grounded and has sold to designers, architects, historic preservation sites, and customers for libraries, exterior entryways, halls, mantles, and formal interiors. I pride myself on permanence, symbolism, and the very highest quality grounded in historical authenticity. The majority of my work is oneof-a-kind and my more elaborate pieces can take months to complete. Every aspect of my carvings, from board selection to finishing is performed entirely by myself. I use traditional methods with hand tools for all of my work.
I grew up on a tree farm in Chester County, PA and served an apprenticeship in the shop of E. Townsend who was a curator at the Historic Wintertur Estate and Museum, outside Wilmington, Delaware. He was part of a two centuries long legacy of Chester County fine furniture makers. Chester County furniture developed a unique style that stemmed largely from the 17th century Welsh, English Quakers, and Dutch settlers. Certain unique design features I incorporate in my furniture includes use of line-and-berry holly inlay, paneled chests, and regional William & Mary period detail. Except for painted pine pieces, Federal inlay and veneer work, and my Windsor chairs, I rely exclusively on the abundant traditional local hardwoods: cherry, maple, and walnut. My more recent Bellamy style carvings utilize Linden and Mahogany.
My pieces have been selected for museums and historic sites, including James Madison’s Montpelior and Historic Jamestown. My work has been featured in Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and Woodwork Magazines and featured in exhibits and galleries from SanDiego, CA to Rockport, Maine. I have won numerous awards including the coveted international ‘Veneer Challenge’ in 2018. I have been selected as a ‘Top American Craftsman’ by Early American Magazine for the past 8 years and have been a featured artist. I am recognized as a leading authority on the 19th century carver, Edward Halley Bellamy, from Kittery, Maine. I use my Windsor chair tools (scorp, drawknives, adze, travisher, spokeshaves, compass plane) for the initial shaping of my carvings. Every aspect of my traditional Bellamy eagles is worked by hand from the roughing out, the finish carving, gold leaf gilding, and painting of shields, flags, and banners. My carvings have sold throughout the world to collectors and museums.
I like to scour museum archives and study originals for furniture and carving ideas, patterns, moldings, inlay designs, & proportions. I enjoy sketching details of the Chester County pieces I see in homes and exhibits in my home area. I think that with time one develops a trained eye. Craft is a combination of knowledge, skill and intuition all working together. It takes time and work to gain this, but it’s what I love.