Longtime Vineyarder Marc Brown, the creator of the award-winning children’s book and television series Arthur, sold his Vineyard Haven property earlier this month.
The 7.2-acre property at 180 Pilot Hill Road sold for $6.4 million on August 11 to a buyer from California, according to Elle Lash, who co-listed the property with Alexis Holden, from Tea Lane Associates.
Mr. Brown and his wife, artist Laurene Krasny Brown, bought the property in 1988, and renovated the historic farm house and grounds over the next 37 years. It was a place that helped inspire the Arthur books and shows, and pops up in many of Arthur’s surrounding landscapes, especially in Arthur’s Family Vacation.
In an interview this week, Mr. Brown said the home and Island offered a place of peace and quiet.
“We were surrounded by a lot of protected open land and animal sounds, and it was just a really magical place to work,” he said.
Mr. Brown began the book series in 1976, and it officially concluded in 2011. The television series ran for 25 seasons. The first books in the series were made in Aquinnah, where the Browns lived before purchasing their home in Vineyard Haven.
Feeling like they had completed their renovation project — and also hoping to be closer to their primary residence — the Browns were ready to pass on their house for someone else to enjoy.
“For us, it was like a piece of artwork that we worked on — with the trees, the gardens, the houses,” Mr. Brown told the Gazette over the phone on Wednesday. “And we finished it.”
Mr. Brown recalled planting and replacing trees after Hurricane Bob in 1991, and watching them grow over the years. He said his favorite part of their 40 years on the Vineyard were the winters, where the quiet and beauty were perfect for making art.
The Browns recently purchased another historic farmhouse — a Greek Revival house, according to Mr. Brown — in the Hudson Valley, which they plan to renovate and restore.
Their longtime Island home reflects both Mr. and Ms. Brown’s art, from the kindness and generosity of Arthur to the “wild creativity” of their other artistic works, said Ms. Lash. The wide plank Siberian floors, as well as the antique mantlepieces, are hand-painted, and the color scheme for the walls and moulding were drawn from both nature and the Browns’ collection of American folk art.
The Browns also installed a saltwater pool, a screened-in porch and stone patio. An old horse stable was converted into Ms. Brown’s art studio, and the space above the three-car carriage house garage became Mr. Brown’s studio.
“The list of what was done at the property, both on the grounds and to the different historic buildings, is pretty exhaustive,” said Ms. Lash.
The buyer, DRS Pilot Hill LLC, represents a multi-generational family that has already moved into the property. One member of the family is a longtime Vineyard visitor with friends on the Island, and another member of the family will live in the house year-round, according to Julie Flanders, the buyers’ agent.
“I think it went from one special family to another special family,” said Ms. Flanders, adding that the new owners brought their dogs and miniature donkeys to the property.
“You know, they’re a lot easier to raise than a miniature elephant,” said Mr. Brown.
This article appears in August 28, 2026.