Carlton Chapman (1860-1925)

Carlton Chapman was born in New London, Ohio in 1860. He studied at the National Academy of Design, the Art Students League and at the Academie Julien in Paris with Lefebvre and Boulanger.

An avid sailor, Chapman was both a painter and an illustrator of predominantly marine subjects. His loose watercolor style and soft-hued palette distinguish him from other marine artists.

In the late 1880s Carlton Chapman traveled throughout France and created interesting watercolor records, particularly of the sites of Paris and St. Malo.

As an accomplished artist, Chapman exhibited in Boston in 1892, at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901, and the Charleston Exposition in 1902. He received medals at each.

The watercolor “Paris” is one of Chapman’s most successful efforts and depicts the early 16th century tower of the Church of St. Jacques-la-Boucherie. It was painted the year of the influential Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 where Chapman was an exhibitor.