b. June 11, 1857, High Forest, Olmsted County, Minnesota
d. Feb. 15, 1949, St. Paul, Minnesota

Brewer was one of the so-called "Minnesota Impressionists", a group that included Alexis Fournier, Anton Gag, Philip Little and Carl Rawson among others. While his early work reflected the Barbizon School training he received, his palette became more in the American Impressionist style. After his marriage in 1879 to Rose Mary Koempel, he settled in St. Paul. A good friend of Alexis Fournier, he frequently visited Fournier in upper New York State. While Brewer loved landscape painting above all else, he was frequently commissioned for portraits, as which he did well. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club and the National Arts Club.