Jean Charlot
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Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 - 1979) was a French painter and illustrator, active in Mexico and the United States. Charlot was born in Paris. His father, Henri, owned an import-export business and was a Russian-born émigré, albeit one who supported the Bolshevik cause. His mother Anna was herself an artist. His mother's family originated from Mexico City, his grandfather a French-Indian mestizo.
Charlot spent an extensive period of his life living and working in Mexico. In 1921, he and his mother left Europe to settle in Mexico City. He found work as an assistant to the famed artist, Diego Rivera. He also worked as an illustrator during the excavations at Chichen Itza under Sylvanus Morley. ⅓In 1942 he painted an oil on canvas mural for the post office at McDonough, Georgia: "Cotton Gin", 4 1/2 by 11 feet. In 1949, Charlot relocated to Hawaii to become a professor of art at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He continued to live and work there until his death in 1979. Abstract Expressionist Kenneth O. Goehring and Jean's son Martin Charlot were among his students.
Charlot came to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1947 to take the job as Head of the Art School of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. He taught fresco painting and worked with Lawrence Barrett on several editions of lithographs. While there he also taught art at The Fountain Valley School, an indeopendent school for boys (at that time), founded in 1930. Charlot left the Fine Arts Center in 1949 under a cloud of misunderstandings between himself and the Arts Center's Board or Trustees and the Art Center's director, Mitch Wilder. Charlot then went to teach at the University of Hawaii where he stayed for over 30 years, teaching art.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Hawaii State Art Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the University of Hawaii at Manoa library are among the public collections having works by Jean Charlot.
In 1940 he illustrated the book Tito's Hats (Garden City Publishing), which was written by the future actor Mel Ferrer.
[edit] Selected works
 'Hala Grove, Kahuwai, Hawaii', serigraph by Jean Charlot, Hawaii State Art Museum |
 'Woman Standing with Child on Back', color lithograph by Jean Charlot |
[edit] References
- Haar, Francis and Neogy, Prithwish, "Artists of Hawaii: Nineteen Painters and Sculptors", University of Hawaii Press, 1974, 42-49.
- Radford, Georgia and Warren Radford, "Sculpture in the Sun, Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces", University of Hawaii Press, 1978, 92.
- Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent, 98. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
- Yoshihara, Lisa A., Collective Visions, 1967-1997, [Hawaii] State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997, 16.
