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 1922 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. It closed in 1944. History The school was established and run by the Gra ...

and the

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

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

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' and ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

''. 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 Nicholas P. Brigante, Mabel Alvarez, Herman Cherry, Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Rex S ...

. 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 a student 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, also known as J. Harvey Dunn (March 8, 1884 – October 29, 1952), was an American painter and teacher. During World War I, Dunn was an artist-correspondent with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Most of Du ...

. 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 Chouinard, Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt Disney, Walt and ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', ''

'', '' McCall's '', ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

,'' ''

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 Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

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 (SoI) 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. Since absorbing the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (M ...

' 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 Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in ...

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 is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Georgia, United States. It is within western Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line, and is included in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is ...

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

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading