JANUARY FINE ESTATES CHARLESTON SC
Lot 108:
Description
Charles William Bartlett (1860-1940) very rare signed woodblock print titled ‘USHIBUSE, 1916’ depicting a river scene with fishermen in boats before a mountainous shore, measures 9in. x 14in. (22.8cm. x 35.5cm.) excluding margins, with rectangular artist’s seal ‘CWB’ in the block and applied red circular ‘C’ seal, signed in Roman script in red pencil in the lower margin ‘Charles W Bartlett’ and with ovoid publisher’s seal of Watanabe Shozaburo in the lower left margin. Professionally framed and matted. In frame 20.5"x15"x1". Weight 3 lbs 10 oz.. Known for watercolor paintings and woodblock prints, especially of scenes from his travels through Southeast Asia, China, and later Hawaii, Charles Bartlett was born and raised in England. He first work in a metallurgical company and then at the age of twenty-three began a fine-art career by enrolling for three years at the Royal Academy in London. Then he went to Paris to study at the Academie Julian in Paris. In 1889, he returned to England and married but lost his wife and infant son in childbirth. He spent a year traveling in Europe with his friend and fellow artist, Frank Brangwyn, and painted most figure works of peasant women and children, likely working through his grief at his own personal loss. Later he did landscapes as well as peasant genre, and worked in both oil and watercolor. He was especially commended for his watercolors, and in recognition of this skill, was one of the first 25 members elected to the prestigious group, Societe Peinture a l’Eau, in Paris. In the following years, Bartlett returned to England, remarried in 1898, and exhibited several oil paintings including at the Royal Academy and the Salon des Beaux Arts. At this time, he became interested in printmaking, especially etchings. In 1913, he and his wife began a year and a half sketching and painting trip to India and also went to Ceylon, Indonesia, and China. In 1915, they arrived in Tokyo, Japan. There they met the Austrian artist Fritz Capelari who introduced them to publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. From this meeting Bartlett and Watanabe formed a collaboration whereby Bartlett’s watercolors were made into woodblock prints. Bartlett used Watanabe print shop as a work place for carving, and the resulting prints had simple designs and flat areas of rich color in styles ranging from modern to traditional. In 1917, Bartlett and his wife Catherine went to Hawaii intending after a short visit to return to England, but they were so enamored with the scenery and people of Hawaii that they settled in Honolulu. Working as an association of Watanabe, Bartlett designed woodblocks that were made into prints. He and his wife continued to travel widely, and attended print exhibitions on the mainland United States. However, they built their life in Hawaii, being active in the art community and making good income from his printmaking activity, although Bartlett also received portrait commissions from wealthy, prominent Hawaiians. During the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, most of Bartlett’s wood blocks were destroyed, but Watanabe was able to salvage some from his collection as was Bartlett, so prints continued to be made throughout the 1920s. After Bartlett’s death in 1940, the remaining blocks for his prints were scored to prevent reprinting
Condition: good
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