biography of Arthur Beecher CARLES (1882-1952)

Birth place: Phila., PA

Death place: Phila., PA

Addresses: Phila., PA

Profession: Painter

Studied: PAFA with Wm. M. Chase, Anshutz, Breckenridge, C. Beaux, H. McCarter, 1900-07; won PAFA Cresson Scholarships to study in Paris, 1905, 1907-10

Exhibited: PAFA, 1905-46 (1917, prize; 1919, prize; 1930, gold; 1939, prize; 1940, solo); Corcoran Gal, 1907, 1916, 1926-45; "Younger American Painters" exh. at 291 Gallery, NYC, 1910 (1st exh. of Am. modernism), 1912 (solo); Armory Show, 1913; AIC, 1913 (med), 1923 (solo), 1928 (med, prize); Pan.-Pac. Expo., San Fran., 1915 (med); Montross Gal. NYC, 1922 (solo); Phila. AC, 1933 (gold), 1936 (gold); PAFA, 1983 (traveling retrospective)

Member: New Soc. of American Artists in Paris, 1908 (founding member)

Work: the largest collections of his paintings are at PAFA and PMA; SFMA; AIC

Comments: Influenced by German Expressionism and the Parisian modernists, Carles developed his own style to become one of the important early American modernists. Was befriended by Steichen, Marin, and Weber and was promoted by Stieglitz as an innovator of expressive color, texture, and form. He was a highly influential and popular teacher at PAFA (1917-1925), but disagreements led to his dismissal. By 1928, he had developed a renewed interest in cubism, but by the 1930s alcoholism led to his deteriorating health; a fall partly paralyzed him, and he spent his last years in a nursing home.

Sources: WW40; Abraham Davidson, Early American Modernist Painting, 229-32; exh. cat., R. York Gal., NYC 1997; H.G. Gardner, Arthur B. Carles, PMA, 1970; Wm. P. Scott, article in American Artist (July, 1998, p.60)