Patrick Henry Bruce

Patrick Henry Bruce (March 25, 1881 – November 12, 1936) was an American cubist painter. A descendant of Patrick Henry, Bruce was born in Campbell County, Virginia, the second of four children. His family had once owned a huge plantation, Berry Hill, worked by over 3,000 slaves. Berry Hill Estate originally was part of a 105,000-acre (420 km) tract granted by the English Crown in 1728 to William Byrd II. (Berry Hill is now a resort and conference center outside South Boston, Virginia and is a National Historic Landmark.) The Civil War left the Bruces' wealth greatly diminished. Bruce began taking evening classes at the Art Club of Richmond in 1898, while working in a real estate office during the daytime. His earliest known extant...