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Laura Lee Brown, 21c Museum Hotels co-founder and Louisville arts patron, dies at 85
Laura Lee Brown, the artist, collector and preservationist who co-founded 21c Museum Hotels with her husband Steve Wilson, died Tuesday at Woodlawn Farm after a short illness. She was 85.
Laura Lee Brown, the Louisville-born artist, collector, preservationist and entrepreneur who co-founded 21c Museum Hotels with her husband Steve Wilson, died Tuesday at Woodlawn Farm following a short illness. She was 85.
Brown was born in Louisville on June 12, 1941, to George and Gertrude Brown. She attended Sweet Briar College, where she studied French and developed the interest in art that would shape much of her life. After a period in San Francisco, she returned to Kentucky and built a reputation as a photographer and painter.
In 2006, Brown and Wilson, her husband of 29 years, launched 21c Museum Hotels, converting her passion for contemporary art into a hospitality venture that paired exhibitions with hotel rooms. The concept began in Louisville and expanded to other cities, becoming one of the region's most visible art-driven businesses.
Beyond the hotels, Brown was known as a preservationist and philanthropist, supporting causes across Louisville and Kentucky. Her work combined art, historic preservation and community investment â a model that helped draw attention to downtown Louisville and to the region's cultural life.
She is survived by her husband, three children, seven grandchildren and her sister.