Clarence Holbrook Carter
Chrysanthemums and Tiger Lilies
1935

Name: Chrysanthemums and Tiger Lilies
Brand: Clarence Holbrook Carter
Price: 8500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Chrysanthemums and Tiger Lilies Signed and dated lower left (twice), see photo Watercolor on paper, 1935 A symbol of the sun, the Japanese consider the orderly unfolding of the chrysanthemum's petals to represent perfection. Confucius once suggested they be used as an object of meditation. It's said that a single petal of this celebrated flower placed at the bottom of a wine glass will encourage a long and healthy life. Chrysanthemums are the flower for the month of November. Provenance: Joseph M. Erdelac, Cleveland (noted collector and friend of Carter's) This work was created during the 1930's when the artist was creating his best works. The 1930's work are the most highly sought after by collectors. Regarding Carter: A major watercolorist in the Cleveland, Ohio area in the early 20th century as well as teacher, Clarence Carter was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, and received recognition for his art talent beginning with his childhood. From 1923 to 1927, he enrolled in the Cleveland School of Art and earned key patronage from William Milliken, Director of The Cleveland Museum of Art and local arts supporter who arranged for Carter to study in Italy with Hans Hofmann in 1927. Through the next four decades, Carter's works were labeled Surrealism, Magic Realism, Geometric Abstraction, Pop and Op, but no category could capture his style completely. From 1929 to 1937, Carter taught at the Cleveland Museum of Art, a job arranged by Milliken. From 1937 to 1938, he was Director of the Federal Art Project for Northeastern Ohio, and from 1938 to 1944, he taught at the Carnegie Institute. He also served as guest instructor at various institutions including the Minneapolis School of Art (1949), Lehigh University (1954), Ohio University (1955), Atlanta Art Institute (1957), Lafayette College (1961), and the University of Iowa (1970). It was in the mid-1960's, in his series called "Mandalas," that his fascination with the egg-shaped ovoid began. Author James A. Michener has commented that the egg in Carter's works is ". . . a mysterious symbol evoking the past, the origins, the overtones of Christianity." Carter was a member of the American Water Color Society and in 1962, served as Vice President. He used a watercolor technique that involved precise use of form, quick color washes and little retouching. From the beginning of his career, Carter painted in a modernist idiom characterized by a precise, realist line and strong psychological component. His work from the 1930s can be considered part of American Scene painting, and he was much concerned with the complex realities of American rural life. There is a rich emotional quality to Carter’s work, and he once said “For me no great art has ever existed without some mystery and some awe. That is the vast intangible, which can never be defined but only felt in an elusive way that stirs the spirit.” (Frank Anderson Trapp, Clarence Holbrook Carter [New York: Rizzoli Books, 1989], p. 7) Courtesy: AskArt

Creator:

Clarence Holbrook Carter (1904-2000, American)

Creation Year:

1935

Dimensions:

Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 14.75 in (37.47 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor

Movement & Style:

Realist

Period:

1930-1939