Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
American, 1904-2000
Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that was nearly unprecedented among Cleveland School artists of his day, with representation by major New York dealers, scores of awards and solo exhibits, and streams of praise flowing from pens of the top art critics. Over the course of his 60+ year career Carter evolved from an exceptionally fine American Scene painter capable of evoking deep reservoirs of mood, into an abstractionist with a strongly surrealist bent.
While his two bodies of work seem at first to be worlds apart, owing to their different formal vocabularies, they, in fact, explore virtually the same subject: the nexus between life and death and the transition from earth to spirit. The early work finds its expressive power through specific people, events, and landscapes—most of which are drawn from his experiences growing up in the river town of Portsmouth, Ohio—while the later work from the 1960s on evokes potent states of being through pure flat shape, color and form that read as universals. As his primary form he adopted the ovoid or egg shape, endowing it with varying degrees of transparency. Alone or in multiples, the egg moves through Carter’s landscapes and architectural settings like a sentient spirit on a restless quest.
Born and raised in southern Ohio along the banks of the mercurial Ohio River and its treacherous floods, Carter developed a love of drawing as a child, and was encouraged by both his parents. He was self-directed, found inspiration all around him, and was strongly encouraged by the fact that his teenage work consistently captured art prizes in county and state fairs. Carter studied at the Cleveland School of Art from 1923-27, where he trained under painters Henry Keller, Frank Wilcox and Paul Travis.
Returning to Cleveland in 1929, Carter had his first solo show, and through Milliken taught studio classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1930-37. In 1938, he moved to Pittsburgh to teach at the Carnegie Institute of Technology until 1944. Carter’s American Scene paintings of the ’30s and ’40s, which launched his artistic star, are the works for which the artist remains best known.
During and immediately after World War II, Clarence Carter realized his attraction to bold pattern, dramatic perspective and eye-catching hard-edged design was a poor fit with the prevailing style of Abstract Expressionism. Fortunately, these same hallmarks of his style were prized within the realm of commercial art.
Around 1964 Carter acknowledged a need to break from the confines of representational painting. Once Carter had found a potent symbol in the egg, he used it to create an astounding body of imagery for the rest of his life. Among the most ambitious of all his later paintings were his Transections, a theological term meaning to cross, specifically between life and death.(Biography provided by WOLFS)
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Period: 1970s
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter
Night Garden, mid-century figural surrealist acrylic painting, Cleveland School
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Night Garden, 1972
Acrylic on scintilla
Signed and dated lower right
21.5 x 21.5 inches
24.25 x 24.25 inches, framed
Clarence Holbroo...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Eschatos #28, Surreal Landscape Serigraph by Clarence Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Eschatos 28
Year: 1977
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 26 in. x 34 in. (66....
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Homestead, Lithograph by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Homestead
Year: 1979
Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, AP 30
Size: 23 in. x 29 in. (58....
Category
1970s American Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Lithograph
In the Window, Ovoid Shapes Floating Through Windows
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
In the Window, 1973
Acrylic and collage on scintilla
Signed and dated lower right
30 x 22 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abs...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
City Scape, Ovoid Geometrical Abstract Green & Brown Structures
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
City Scape, 1978
Acrylic on scintilla
Signed and dated lower right
30 x 22 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting....
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Pappy (Study for Over and Above: Gorilla), Mid-Century Figurative Drawing
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Pappy (Study for Over and Above: Gorilla), c. 1973
Colored pencil on paper
Signed and dated lower left
7 x 7 inches
20.75 x 19 inches, framed
Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that was nearly unprecedented among Cleveland School artists of his day, with representation by major New York dealers...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Color Pencil
Ablaze, Ovoid Faces Looking Through Geometrical Windows
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Ablaze, 1973-79
Acrylic and collage on scintilla
Signed and dated lower left
30 x 22 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Up the Avenue, Geometrical Ovoid Abstract Acrylic & Collage Cityscape
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Up the Avenue, 1979
Acrylic and collage on paper
Signed and dated lower right
15 x 11 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic, Mixed Media
Transection No. 3, Ovoid Geometrical Figural Abstract Neon Acrylic Painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Transection No. 3, 1972
Acrylic on paper
Signed and dated upper right
30 x 22 inches
Provenance: Collection of William H. Milliken
Cl...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Entr'acte - Mid-Century Ovoids in Theatre - Geometrical Abstract Pastel
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Entr'acte, 1977
Pastel on board
Signed and dated lower right
8 x 10 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting.
Clare...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Pastel
Quadratic, Mid-Century Ovoid Figural Abstract Acrylic & Collage with faces
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Quadratic, 1979
Acrylic and collage on textured paper
Signed and dated lower right
30 x 22 inches
31.5 x 23.5 inches, framed
A surreal...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Vetriculus, Surrealist Ovoid acrylic painting, Figural Abstract work on paper
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Vetriculus, c. 1970s
Acrylic on paper
4.5 x 3.5 inches
11 x 10 inches, framed
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting.
Cl...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
The Mayor, Mid-Century Ovoid Figural Abstract Acrylic & Collage with Eye
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
The Mayor, 1979
Acrylic and collage on scintilla
Signed lower right
30 x 22 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting....
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Highway, Pop Art Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Highway
Year: 1979
Medium: Screenprint, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200
Image Size: 30 x 22 inches
Paper Si...
Category
1970s Op Art Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Caged, Mid-Century Ovoid Geometrical Abstract Acrylic, Black & Grey
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Caged, 1971
Acrylic on paper
Signed and dated lower right
24 x 20 inches
A surrealist mid-century figural abstract painting.
Clarenc...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Pilgrimage #6
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Pilgrimage #6
Year: 1977
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 26 in. x 34 in. (6...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Blue and Red Space
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Blue and Red Space
Ilk Screen, 1971
Signed and dated lower right (see photo)
editioned lower left (see photo)
Edition: 75 (75/75)
Sheet size: 22 1/8 x 29 7/8"
Image: 21-7/8 x 29-5/8"...
Category
1970s Op Art Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Expanding Mandala, Black and Orange Abstract Oval Mid-Century Painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Expanding Mandala, c. 1970s
Acrylic on scintilla
23 x 30 inches
Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success...
Category
1970s Abstract Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
The Gold Coast, Mid-Century Pastel Pink & Green Painting of Ovoid, Miami
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
The Gold Coast, 1979
Collage and acrylic on scintilla
Signed and dated lower right
22 x 30 inches
Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Chimeras, mid-century figural abstract blue acrylic painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Chimeras, 1974
Acrylic and pastel on textured paper
Mid-century figural abstract blue acrylic painting
Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that w...
Category
1970s American Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Pastel, Acrylic
Reverberations, mid-century abstract surrealist black acrylic painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000)
Reverberations, 1970
Acrylic on illustration board
Signed lower left
20 x 30 inches
Mid-century abstract surrealist black acrylic painting...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic
Burning Bush, Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Burning Bush
Year: 1978
Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, AP...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Transection I, Silkscreen by Clarence Carter 1971
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Transection I
Year: 1971
Medium: Screenprint on Scintilla paper, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 75
Paper Size:...
Category
1970s Op Art Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Green Mandala, Silkscreen by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Green Mandala
Year: 1969
Medium: Screenprint on Scintilla paper, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 75
Paper Size:...
Category
1970s Abstract Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Mandalas, Silkscreen by Clarence Holbrook Carter 1973
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Untitled (Mandalas in a Grid)
Year: 1973
Medium: Silkscreen on Scintilla paper, Signed and numbered in pencil
Edition:...
Category
1970s Abstract Geometric Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Eschatos #23, Surreal Landscape by Clarence Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
The sublime, or the amalgamation of the terrifying and the awe-inspiring, is encapsulated by the crashing wave that dominates this surrealist landscape.
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Ca...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Eschatos #18, Surreal Landscape by Clarence Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Eschatos 18
Year: 1977
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Image Size: 22 x 29.5 inch...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Joseph and His Brothers, Silkscreen by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Joseph and his Brothers
Year: 1971
Medium: Screenprint on Scintilla paper, sign...
Category
1970s Abstract Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Colorful Geometric Abstract, Silkscreen by Clarence Holbrook Carter 1971
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Untitled - Faces in a Grid (Red)
Year: 1971
Medium: Screenprint on Scintilla paper, Signed and numbered in pencil
Edit...
Category
1970s Abstract Geometric Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Balancing Act, Surrealist Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Balancing Act
Year: 1976
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, A...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Eschatos #21
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Eschatos 21
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 23 in. x 29 in. (58.42 cm x 73....
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Fiery Furnace, Surrealist Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Fiery Furnace
Year: 1978
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, AP 30
Paper Size: 35 x 26 inc...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Oil Well, Modern American Painting by Clarence Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
An acrylic painting by Clarence Holbrook Carter from 1979. Carter's modernist style utilizes strong structural lines and architectural aesthetics to form almost surreal-like scenes. Signed on lower right corner, framed in elegant silver wooden frame.
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 1998)
Title: Oil Well...
Category
1970s Modern Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Acrylic, Paper
Tulip, Surrealist Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Tulip
Year: 1978
Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200
Paper Size: 35 x 25.75 inches
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
The Watcher
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: The Watcher
Year: 1977
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Villa by The Sea, Surrealist Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Arches
Year: 1979
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 35 in. x 26 in. (88.9 cm ...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Eschantos 31, Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Eschantos 31
Year: 1978
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 26 in. x 33.5 in. (...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Abstract Tulip, 1979 by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Abstract Tulip
Year: 1979
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200
Paper Size: 35 x 26 inches (88...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Pilgrimage #4, Screenprint by Clarence Holbrook Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Pilgrimage #4
Year: 1977
Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, 30 AP
Size: 26 in. x 34 in. (6...
Category
1970s Surrealist Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Screen
Clowns Making Up
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 2000)
Title: Clowns Making Up
Year: 1979
Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil
Edition: 200, AP 30
Image Size: 19 x 23....
Category
1970s Contemporary Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Lithograph
Transection No. 7, Large Painting by Clarence Carter
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter, American (1904 - 1998)
Title: Transection No. 7
Year: 1970
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed verso
Size: 77 in. x 75.5 in. (195.58 cm x 191.77 c...
Category
1970s Abstract Geometric Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Materials
Oil
Clarence Holbrook Carter art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Clarence Holbrook Carter available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, red, orange and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Clarence Holbrook Carter in paint, acrylic paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Clarence Holbrook Carter, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Louisa Chase, Will Barnet, and John Taylor Arms. Clarence Holbrook Carter prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $500 and tops out at $65,000, while the average work can sell for $8,500.
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