biography of Charles Ethan PORTER (1847-1923)

Birth place: Hartford, CT

Addresses: NYC, active 1869-78; intermittently in Hartford, CT, 1878-89; Rockville, CT, in 1921

Profession: Painter

Studied: NAD, beginning 1869; Paris, 1881-84

Exhibited: NAD, 1871, 1876, 1885-86

Member: CAFA

Work: Lyman Allyn Art Mus., New London, CT

Comments: One of the first African American to exhibit at the NAD, he specialized in still-lifes, particularly of fruits and flowers. Returned to Hartford in 1884 and was active in art community; also a friend of Mark Twain.

Sources: WW21; Gerdts, Art Across America, vol. 1: 109-11 (repro.); Art in Conn.: Early Days to the Gilded Age.