Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
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.to
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
109
85
69
42
30
1
Artist: Clarence Holbrook Carter
Chrysanthemums and Tiger Lilies
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Fairlawn, OH
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 or...
Category
1930s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Related Items
Sun Ripened, Original Painting
By Dwight Smith
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Complementary colors take center stage in this still life. Purple plums rest in a yellow bowl, creating an immediate impact of bright hues. Above, a brightly ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
1920's Historical Fashion Illustration of Lady in 17th Century Dress
Located in Soquel, CA
Finely detailed historical figurative fashion illustration painted in watercolor in 1921, of a lady in 17th century dress; complete with a full blac...
Category
1920s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
$556 Sale Price
20% Off
H 12.25 in W 10.25 in D 0.75 in
Coral dreams Watercolor rose boutique
Located in Zofingen, AG
The watercolor painting with roses is a delicate, refined watercolor, made in a charismatic technique without the use of clear graphic lines. Sophisticated roses and peonies in water...
Category
2010s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
1920's Illustration of a Country Girl
Located in Soquel, CA
Finely detailed figurative illustration of a young woman leaning against a fence. The woman is wearing a plaid dress and bonnet with a black ribbon. Some of the landscape has been il...
Category
1920s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Ink, Gouache
$556 Sale Price
20% Off
H 13.5 in W 10.25 in D 0.75 in
Purple Iris #4, Original Painting
By Jay Jensen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Artist Jay Jense depicts an iris patch in his backyard. It portrays a moment of a humid spring evening, capturing a vivid memory of seeing the blooms in the lig...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Brown teapot surrounded by red onions on Yellow background
By Glenora Richards
Located in New Orleans, LA
Glenny created beautiful miniature watercolors, mostly still life. This image of a bronze teapot with red onions is a unique work of art.
Glenora Rich...
Category
1990s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
$76 Sale Price
20% Off
H 2 in W 2.5 in
Spring day Watercolor painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
A watercolor painting with flowers of apple tree.
A bright, juicy watercolor painting filled with the warmth of the spring sun. The lush petals of a blooming apple tree grow against ...
Category
2010s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Camellia no. 1 - original watercolor
By Gary Bukovnik
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Camellia no.1' original watercolor painted in 2021, a singular camellia flower in pink with hints of yellow with beautiful green foliage from Cleveland-born and educated Gary Bukovn...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Peonies, June
By Susan Headley van Campen
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Titled lower left. Signed lower right: S. Headley Van Campen
Susan Van Campen’s plein-air oil paintings are painted with the confident brushwork of a...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Full Blue Moon, Handmade Cyanotype on Watercolor Paper, Cosmos, Deep Blue Space
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype.
"Blue Moon" shows an outstanding full moon with all its details.
Details:
+ Title: Blue Moon
+ Year: 2022
+ Edition Size: 50
+ Medium: Cyanotype Print on Watercolor Paper
+ Stamped and Certificate of Authenticity provided
+ Measurements : 70x100 cm (28x 40 in.), a standard frame size
+ All cyanotype prints are made on high-quality Italian watercolor paper
WHAT IS A CYANOTYPE?
The cyanotype (a.k.a. sun-print) process is one of the oldest in the history of photography, dating back to the 1840's.
Cyanotypes were then made famous by Anna Atkins, considered the first female photographer. Inspired by nature, we feel the need to look back at a craft that is handmade, analogue, and using an all-natural light source: the sun.
Our cyanotypes are made by coating high-quality Italian watercolor paper with a light-sensitive emulsion. We then expose it in direct sunlight for several minutes using a photo negative to get the best image quality. Finally, the print is washed and fixed with water to stop the reaction and prevent fading.
What you get is an amazing, royal blue image...
Category
2010s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Emulsion, Watercolor
Spring memories Watercolor painting with Tulips
Located in Zofingen, AG
Watercolor painting with tulips for the interior of the living room, bedroom - emotional painting about spring memories. This painting is distinguished by an interesting composition,...
Category
2010s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
$550
H 14.97 in W 22.05 in D 0.04 in
Dina Brodsky, Brown-Hooded Parrot, realist gouache animal miniature, 2018
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky uses gouache and watercolor on paper in "Brown-Hooded Parrot," to depict the multi-hued bird hanging precariously from a thin branch. The li...
Category
2010s Realist Clarence Holbrook Carter Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Clarence Holbrook Carter still-life drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Clarence Holbrook Carter still-life drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Clarence Holbrook Carter in paint, watercolor and more. Not every interior allows for large Clarence Holbrook Carter still-life drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Dina Brodsky, Nikos Kanarelis, and Dwight Smith. Clarence Holbrook Carter still-life drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,500 and tops out at $8,500, while the average work can sell for $8,500.
Artists Similar to Clarence Holbrook Carter
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Clarence Holbrook Carter Art
Clarence Holbrook Carter Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Clarence Holbrook Carter Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
Clarence Holbrook Carter Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Clarence Holbrook Carter Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Clarence Holbrook Carter Paintings
Clarence Holbrook Carter Prints and Multiples
Clarence Holbrook Carter Mixed Media