Holbrook, Stewart H., 1893-1964

Prolific author and journalist, Stewart Hall Holbrook (1893-1964), was well known for works of popular history that covered a variety of topics. A columnist for the Oregonian newspaper, Holbrook also published several books. He described these writings as "lowbrow or non-stuffed shirt history." Born in Vermont, Holbrook had traveled throughout North America with his father while still a child, but was left to fend for himself after his father's untimely death. As a teenager, Holbrook supported himself through assorted jobs, before serving in France during World War I. After the war, he went to British Columbia and found employment in logging camps, but, in his spare time, he worked on articles and cartoons. Holbrook moved to Portland, Oregon in 1923, where he slowly established himself as a journalist and writer, eventually gaining a byline in the Oregonian. His first published book, Holy Old Mackinaw: A Natural History of the American Lumberjack (1938) spent five months on national bestseller lists. Following this success, Holbrook went to Boston and began to write on historical subjects, purposely setting himself apart from academic history and working to resurrect important individuals whom he felt had been neglected. He returned to the Pacific Northwest in the 1940s to head the Keep Washington Green organization, while continuing to write. Holbrook also embarked upon a second career as the satirical oil painter, Mr. Otis. It was through this persona that, Holbrook (who never publicly admitted to being Mr. Otis) poked fun at what he felt to be the pretensions of modern art, first in the pages of the Oregonian, and, later, in a book, Mr. Otis (1958). Most of the fictional Mr. Otis' works were oil paintings, but he also employed techniques of collage and mixed media. Holbrook continued to be active into the early 1960s, before succumbing to heart disease. A retrospective of the Mr. Otis works was held at the University of Oregon Museum of Art in 1994 and a smaller show took place at the University of Washington's Special Collections Division in 2005.

From the description of Stewart H. Holbrook Mr. Otis paintings collection [graphic], 1947-1962. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 427652843

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