Charles John Arter

CHARLES JOHN ARTER (United States, 1860 - 1923)
"Young man with turkeys".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 38 x 53 cm; 63 x 77 cm (frame).
The author of the scene presents us with an evocative scene starring a young woman sitting at the foot of a tree, in an attitude of rest. At her side, two turkeys accompany her in the stillness of the scene, which conveys a bucolic and serene air. The composition evidences Arter's technical mastery and his ability to harmonize the human figure, nature and animals in a scene of great lyricism and balance, which reveals influences of both French academicism and American naturalism.

Charles John Arter, a native of Hanoverton, Ohio, was the son of a farmer. Although his father wished him to continue the family farm, Arter chose a different path, moving to Cincinnati, where he took up flower painting and art teaching.
Later, he traveled to Paris in order to perfect his technique at the Académie Julian, where he received training from the renowned masters Gustave Boulanger and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre. This institution was a training center of great prestige, particularly among American artists of the time. In 1888, Arter presented Interior: Picardy at the Paris Salon, followed by Love Letter and Brasero in 1890. In 1891 he exhibited Mass Exit in Scheveningen, thus consolidating his presence in international art circles.
Throughout his career, he established studios in key cities of the art scene such as Venice, London and New York. He spent several summers in Italy, during which he devoted himself with special interest to the representation of Venetian and Japanese scenes, reflecting a cosmopolitan sensibility and a taste for the exotic that characterized many artists of his generation.