Claudette Sharon Brown Killian was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 12, 1955. Her family moved to New York City in 1967, and she relocated to Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, in 2004.
Killian earned bachelor's degrees in both painting and art history from the University of Rochester in 1979. She worked for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC, the New York Medical College, and Georgetown Day School. After moving to Arkansas, Killian taught art education for the University of Arkansas School of Art.
Her art is featured in such places as the Northwest Arkansas Community College, Tyson Foods, Inc. Corporate Headquarters, and the Wallace W. and Jama M. Fowler House on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus. She founded the Northwest Arkansas African American Heritage Association in 2008. Killian has served as the president of the board of Art Ventures (formerly Fayetteville Underground) in Fayetteville.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Sharon Brown Killian and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: From left: Sharon Killian's Aunt Mildred, Aunt Helen, and mother, Juanita Brown
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Green Card issued to Claudette Sharon Brown (Killian) at age 12 in New York City, 1968
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Sharon Brown (Killian) at age 15 in her home in Harlem; New York City, New York
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Sharon Brown (Killian) (2nd from left) with her mother, Juanita Brown; sister, Sandra; and brother, Trevor
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Sharon Brown (Killian), age 17, in her high school portrait, 1972
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: The Brown siblings: Peter, Sharon, Wesley, Donovan, and Sandra
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Sharon Brown (Killian) with her brother, Trevor
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Sharon Brown (Killlian) holding her nephew, Anthony Brown, with (from left) her sister, Sandra; brothers, Wesley and Raymond; and mother, Juanita
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Sharon Brown (Killian) at her home in Harlem; New York City, New York
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Sharon Brown (Killian), center, with her brother, Peter, and sister, Sandra in Harlem; New York City, New York
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Sharon Brown (Killian) in college, 1974
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Sharon Brown (Killian) with brother, Trevor, and mother, Juanita (on right)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Sharon Killian at age 27 with her son, Jarell, December 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Sharon Killian (2nd from right) with her father, Wesley; grandmother, Doris; and aunt, Gwendolyn
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Sharon Brown Killian's mother, Juanita Brown
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Sharon Killian's husband, Charles Killian, and children, Lindsay and Jarell
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Sharon Killian's mother, Juanita Brown, and uncle, Anthony Brown
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Sharon Killian's parents, Wesley and Juanita Brown
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Sharon Killian with her husband, Charles
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Sharon Killian; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
