Charles Ethan Porter (American, 1847-1923) Lilacs

Charles Ethan Porter (American, 1847-1923)

Lilacs
Signed "C.E. Porter" l.r.
Oil on canvas, 20 x 28 in. (50.8 x 71.1 cm), framed.
Condition: Scattered small losses, surface grime, drying cracks, scattered pinprick accretions.

N.B. Charles Ethan Porter was a still-life painter in the 19th and early 20th century. He attended the Wesleyan Academy in Massachusetts and went on to study at New York's National Academy of Design, where he was one of the first African Americans to exhibit.

In 1878, Porter opened a studio in Hartford where Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) came to know him through his local exhibitions. In the early 1880s, Porter announced a sale of his works to raise money to study in Europe. In 1881, Twain wrote to artist Karl Gerhardt and his wife Harriet, asking them to help Porter when he arrived in Paris. He also wrote a general letter of introduction for Porter to the American community there.