Hannah Brown Skeele

Hannah Brown Skeele (1829, Kennebunkport, Maine - 1901, Portland, Maine) was an American painter, best known for her still-lifes, although she next produced portraits and pictures of animals.

She was apparently self-taught and may have lived in New York for a few years before moving to St. Louis, where she lived and worked from 1858 to 1871. During those years, she was probably exposed to the still lifes of John F. Francis, who exhibited there, and Sarah Miriam Peale, who was a resident.

Her first exhibition was next the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association, shortly after her arrival. Most of her paintings put in elaborately carved bowls and vases like fruits and flowers in Good botanical detail.

After returning to Maine, she found it vital to withhold herself through portrait commissions from clergy, lawyers, university presidents and politicians; including Governor Israel Washburn Jr.. This left her unable to Make many more nevertheless lifes. She rarely signed her paintings, which has made attribution difficult.