Bo Bartlett: American Painter of Dreams and Realities

February 16, 2025 at 8:25 pm Leave a comment

Bo Bartlett

James William Bartlett III
He was born on December 29, 1955, in Columbus, Georgia
Nationality: American
Occupation: Painter, Filmmaker
Influenced by: Bartlett’s work is influenced by notable American artists such as Thomas Eakins, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Norman Rockwell, and Andrew Wyeth, as well as European masters like Titian, Diego Velázquez and Eugène Delacroix. He often searched for inspiration in the works of various artists from the Renaissance to the Surrealist masters.
Movements: He is associated with American Realism and contemporary figurative, Modernism and Metamodernism painting.
Styles: His style blends realism with surreal elements, often described as contemporary realism with a modernist vision. Bartlett’s style can be also described as narrative realism.
Subjects: His paintings frequently depict everyday American life, landscapes, family members, human narratives, intimate moments, and themes related to the American South, spirituality, and personal experiences.
Genres: Bartlett works primarily in the genres of figurative painting, portraiture, landscape, and still life.
Mediums: He primarily works with oil paints but has also explored pastels and fresco techniques during his studies in Italy
Unique Distinction: Bartlett is distinguished by his ability to merge the personal with the universal in his art. He is recognized for his large-scale canvases that often measure up to eighteen feet in length, reminiscent of historical grand paintings.

Achievements and Main Contributions to Art:

He has received numerous awards including the PEW Fellowship in the Arts (1993) and the Charles Toppan Prize from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

His work is held in prestigious collections such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Seattle Art Museum

His documentary film Snow Hill (1995) about Andrew Wyeth won multiple awards including the CINE Golden Eagle Award.

Founded the Bo Bartlett Center in Columbus, Georgia in his hometown, which serves as an art education centre and gallery space.

Bartlett is considered as a leader in American figurative painting. The subject of many solo exhibitions, his work is held in numerous public and private collections, including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Hunter Museum of American Art, among others.

Family Background: Bo Bartlett was born to Opal and Bill Bartlett (James William Bartlett Jr.). His father was a woodworker and furniture designer while his mother worked as a medical librarian. He has a son named Will from his first marriage before moving to Philadelphia.

Education Background:
At the age of 19 he traveled to Florence, Italy where he studied mural painting under Ben Long in 1974.In 1975 he returned to the United States, where he enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and then transferred to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1976. He also studied anatomy at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Bartlett then went on to study liberal arts at the University of Pennsylvania from 1980 to 1981. He received his Certificate of Fine Arts in 1981 from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and a Certificate of Filmmaking from New York University in 1986.
In 2023, Bartlett received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Art from the New York Academy of Art and The Honorary Certificate from the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Professional Work Experience:

Began exhibiting his work in Philadelphia and New York during the early 1980s.He has exhibited widely across the United States, including notable exhibitions at galleries such as P·P·O·W Gallery in New York (1988) and John Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco.
In 1992, Bartlett moved to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where he spent three years following, filming, and studying under painter Andrew Wyeth, whom he often refers to as his “artistic father.” Three years later, he released Snow Hill, a documentary based on Wyeth’s life and art.
His recent exhibitions include notable venues like MOCA Jacksonville and Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World at the Norman Rockwell Museum (2016) and Earthly Matters at The Gibbes Museum of Art (2022)among others.

Personal Life: Bo Bartlett is married to the American encaustic painter and musician Betsy Eby. They collaborate artistically and have established an art center together. After decades spent living in Philadelphia and Seattle, the couple recently moved back to Columbus, where they paints out of a converted cotton mill. In the summers, the couple travels to their home on the remote Wheaton Island off the coast of Maine, and spend their time painting all day.
“Everyone who poses for me usually is either a friend or family. I use my relatives, my children growing up, when they were growing up,” said Bartlett. They currently live and paint on an island off the coast of Maine in summer, and in his hometown of Columbus, Georgia in the winter.
Personality Traits, Hobbies, Interests: Known for his contemplative nature and deep appreciation for storytelling through art. Bartlett often draws inspiration from his surroundings and personal experiences. He enjoys exploring themes of memory and identity in his work while maintaining a connection to nature through his art.