Meet Laura Lee Brown of 21c Museum Hotels & Hermitage Farm

An accomplished artist, art collector, philanthropist, and businesswoman, native Kentuckian Laura Lee Brown is making moves to improve the art world and increase conservation efforts throughout the Commonwealth. Meet StyleBlueprint’s newest FACE, Laura Lee Brown!

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You’re known as an artist, art collector, philanthropist, and businesswoman. When you first meet someone, and they ask what you do, how do you answer?

I would probably start with the fact that I co-founded 21c Museum Hotels with my husband, Steve Wilson. We were interested in helping downtown Louisville expand, particularly in the area where the hotel ended up being built. We also wanted to create a downtown that would be appealing to people. We wanted it to be a place where people wanted to live so that taking farmland for development wouldn’t be a top priority. We wanted downtown to have a punch and be different and unique.

That was in 2006. Today, 21c is known for being a unique hotel with an art museum. Why the focus on art?

We had a small collection of art that people enjoyed seeing at our house, and we wanted to have a contemporary art venue downtown. We reached out to the SPEED Museum about a downtown exhibition space, but they weren’t interested at that time, so we decided to fit that bill. We thought, well, maybe we can build a hotel and devote some of the space to exhibiting artwork.

So, were you an art enthusiast before the idea for 21c came to light?

Yes, I started getting into art back in my early thirties. My mother helped start the new collectors at the SPEED Museum, and I would go with her on these trips to New York. We’d go to see what was current and buy pieces for the museum.

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When did you start creating your own art?

Oh gosh — not until I was 50! I knew I couldn’t draw, so I didn’t think I could paint. But I had a friend who took me up to his studio class to show me that it was not intimidating. That’s how I got started. I also learned other ways to get images onto the canvas (without drawing them), and those are the methods I tend to use today.

I’m also on the board of KYCAD, the Kentucky College of Art and Design. It’s an art college that was founded in 2009, and it’s about to be accredited — we’re very excited about it.

You mentioned that one of the reasons for co-founding 21c was to make downtown a desirable place to live, so people would be less focused on developing farmland. Can you tell us more about that?

The preservation of country land is so important. A lot of the little farms are going like hotcakes because the land is being developed. I think for the future of this country, we need to preserve some of that farmland — once it’s gone, it can never go back to being farmland. We’ve bought some farmlands and put them into easement; we also have a couple of others waiting to get into easement so they can be preserved in perpetuity.

Was land preservation part of why you and Steve purchased Hermitage Farm and opened the farm-to-table restaurant Barn8?

Yes, that was certainly part of the reason. We want people to be able to come out to the country to see horses thriving, vegetables being grown, and whiskey being tasted. It’s a place for people to see what it’s like to be on a working farm.

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You have a lot going on! When you’re not busy with work- or art-related activities, what does your ideal day like?

I guess it would include some Pilates and lunch with a friend. In the summertime, I’d probably come back home and pull weeds. Then, I’d walk on the farm — walking three dogs for about half an hour. After that, I’d come home and do some things on the computer. Steve would come home around then; if he didn’t bring dinner home, he’d cook something. We’d eat, then we’d watch an hour of Succession!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever given or received?

This is something I might say to a grandchild who is frustrated with school: Education is a privilege, and I want you to take advantage of it. We don’t often think of it that way in this country, but it really is a privilege. In other countries, they might not have the same educational opportunities we do, and I think that’s tragic.

Aside from faith, family, and friends, what are three things you can’t live without?

Chocolate! Also, warm air and gardening. I’ve done vegetables in the past, but now it’s flowers, shrubs, and trees. Steve gave me 80 trees for my eightieth birthday. They were planted along the road leading back to the farm. It was a wonderful idea.

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Thank you, Laura Lee! All photography by Ryan Mahony.

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