Pruett Carter (9 February 1891 – 1 December 1955) was an American illustrator who taught at the

Grand Central School of Art The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1923 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. The school was established and run by the Grand Central Art Galleries, an ...

and the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art I ...

. He illustrated national magazines, and was art director for ''

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' and ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

''. Carter was inducted into the Society of Illustrator's Hall of Fame in 1988.

Early life and education

Carter was born in 1891 in Missouri. He grew up in Wyoming on an Indian Reservation. He graduated from the Los Angeles High School, then studied art at the

Art Students League of Los Angeles Art Students League of Los Angeles was a modernist painting school that operated in Los Angeles, California from 1906 to 1953. Among its students were painters Mabel Alvarez, Herman Cherry, Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Rex Slinkard; illustrators ...

. After completing his education in California, Carter studied in New York under

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

. His and Rex Slinkard's works were exhibited at the League in 1910. A critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' stated, "For the present, instructors of the ASL of LA are pupils of Robert Henri of NY - and you know what that means! You know, at once, that they are strictly up-to-date in their artistic ideas, that they are the most modern of the moderns, and that they are smashing academic traditions with every vigorous stroke of charcoal stick or paintbrush."

Career

Carter taught illustration at the

in New York City, with

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

and

Harvey Dunn Harvey Thomas Dunn NA (March 8, 1884 – October 29, 1952) was an American painter and teacher. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, ''The Prairie is My Garden'' (1950). In this painting, a mother and her two children ar ...

. His students included Lawrence Nelson Wilbur and

Perle Fine Perle Fine (born Poule Feine)(1905–1988) was an American Abstract expressionist painter.Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art I ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and was head of the Illustration department. His illustrations appeared in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', ''

'', '' McCall's '', '' Ladies' Home Journal,'' ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

'', and ''

Woman's Home Companion ''Woman's Home Companion'' was an American monthly magazine, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s. The magazine, headquartered in Springfield, O ...

.'' He was art director at ''

'' and ''

''. Carter was an adept illustrator at the magazine publishing industry, including women's magazines, and anticipated and adjusted his approach as the market changed. Initially, Carter made Impressionist works, like that of Walter Biggs. He stated, "The illustrator's first function is a problem of composition, of pattern, of design - including the rich contrast of the illustration itself with the type matter and headlines of the story... the illustrator may be likened to the director of a motion picture...He must live the part of each actor. He must do the scenery, design the costumes, and handle the lighting effects." He had adapted a modern style that focused on decoration and page design by the 1950s. He exhibited his works in California. In 1988, Carter was inducted into the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

' Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Carter married a woman named Theresa, and about 1920 they had a son named Deal. He and his family lived on the East Coast of the United States until about 1930, when they moved to California. They were living in Studio City, Los Angeles in the mid-1950s. About December 1, 1955, Carter killed his wife and his son, who had been handicapped from birth, while they were sleeping, and then killed himself. Carter had been emotionally upset about selling the family house and an upcoming move to

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, ...

. His body was found with a .45 revolver in his son's bedroom.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading