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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Charlotte Wharton was born in Oklahoma and raised on a mid-sized farm in Kansas. Her interest in drawing and painting was evident at an early age, sparked by the romance of the sprawling one hundred and fifty plus acres of the farm. It was here that a passion for rendering mood and atmosphere was formed. At age ten she entered a citywide school competition and won. At eighteen she had her first one person exhibit at Independence Community College and designed theater and fashion show stage sets. After graduation she married and moved to Massachusetts where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Clark University. She then spent almost four years as an illustrator and assistant art director for Worcester Polytechnic Institute winning nine national design awards. Seeking more creative freedoms, she then followed her passion for fine art and, in 1983, began a full-time career as Charlotte Wharton Studio.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Knowing why I’m responding to something is crucial to how I will paint it. It’s then that I can name a directive - an attitude and adjectives - that will guide the painting process. Yet, there have been lapses when I have forgone this step, and the resulting paintings and process left me feeling unconnected to the paintings and to myself. So, my goal as I venture into my twilight years is to concentrate more on what’s ‘within me’ rather than what’s ‘out there.’ A challenging goal - scary, yet exciting, like standing naked and vulnerable before nature …”

CHARLOTTE WHARTON, PSA, COPLEY MASTER

BIOGRAPHY

Known as a versatile artist, Charlotte Wharton has a penchant for painting all subjects, and in a manner that best expresses a mood or atmosphere of each. She has participated in exhibits in Italy, France, and Russia as well as throughout the United States. Wharton was awarded month-long residencies in France and Italy. Her portraits and landscapes are represented in American and European private and corporate collections, including Yale University, Worcester Mechanics Hall, and the Brittany, France museum, Maison de la Grande Vigne. Her work has won more than five dozen major awards including the Copley Society’s Margaret Fitzhugh Brown Memorial Award for Excellence in Portraiture; the Grumbacher Gold Medal; and the Oil Painters of America’s Award for Excellence in Painting. Selected works were reproduced in Portrait Inspirations, Best of Oils, and Best of Pastels, by Rockport Press. Charlotte has been featured on WGMC TV3 twice and in the North Light Art Book Club Magazine. She wrote and designed "The Language of Energy in Art: Finding Your Vision".

Wharton has taught workshops throughout the United States, Umbria, Italy, and the British West Indies. She was also on the faculty of the Worcester Art Museum where she taught master portrait classes. Wharton mentored many of her former students at the Worcester Art Museum and they subsequently formed the New Worcester Art Museum Group in her honor. She sat on the Cultural Advisory Board of the Worcester Bancroft School and has served as Chair of the Membership Committee of the Copley Society of Boston. (More Details)