William Carter Still Life

William Sylvester Carter (1909-1996)
Still Life With Purple Plum,c. 1950
oil on canvas
signed
18 x 32 inches
framed

William Sylvester Carter was born in St. Louis, MO and moved to Chicago in 1930 to study art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois. In order to earn room and board, Carter worked as a janitor at the Palette and Chisel Club (an all-white club, to which he became an honorary member in 1986).

He was among the artists represented in the American Negro Exposition assembled by Alonzo Aden, with the Harmon Foundation and the WPA in Chicago, 1940. Carter was awarded first prize for a work in watercolor. The same year, he exhibited at Howard University Gallery of Art. Carter also worked for the WPA in Illinois in 1943, and taught art at the historic South Side Community Art Center.

Carter worked in many styles and addressed virtually any subject matter from the traditional portrait, seascape and landscape to the cubist still life and illustration seen here in this collection, to completely non-objective compositions.
Condition Report: Generally good condition. Re-lined, no visible retouch under ultraviolet examination. A mild pattern of craquelure visible, but entirely stable.