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| Philip Barter's career as an artist can best be described by one word - remarkable. A self taught artist, with no formal or academic art training, Barter spent many years rigorously developing his art skills. By the 1980s he had emerged as one of Maine's leading regionalist painters, and was soon being touted as Maine's quintessential painter.A prolific artist, his paintings alone are nearing two thousand in number, and are scatteredthroughout the United States, Canada, and Europe in both individual and corporate collections.Born in 1939 in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Barter's interest in art - primarily drawing - asserteditself early on and was self - motivated. By his mid -teens, drawing had become a dailyoccupation and, as he would say later, a redeeming outlet for his "growing pains." A brief stay in California in the early Sixties proved critical to his resolve to become a painter.Two powerful experiences share responsibility for this. The first was Alphonso Souza, aSpanish Expressionist painter with whom he "studied" infomally over a three year period. Theother experience, and of far greater import, was his discovery of the paintings of MarsdenHartley (1877-1943), Maine's first native painter to achieve international recognition during hislifetime, and one of this century's first American advocates of Modernism. Then, in 1988, his reputation as a leading regionalist folk-art painter and interpreter of Maine'sDown East experience(captured primarily in his narrative paintings) had reached officials atMassachusetts' DeCordova Museum, who promptly included six of his narratives in theirtraveling exhibition "Stories to Tell: The Narrative Impulse in Contemporary New EnglandFolk art." It was Philip Barter's first important exposure in a publication devoted exclusively toart and artists. But more recognition was on the way. In 1992 Bates College, in Lewiston, honored him with his first retrospective for his quartercentury contribution to Maine art.In August of 1993, he appeared in Maine's own Down East magazine (One Happy Fella)for the first time. Barter gained national attention in January 1995 when he appeared on CBS's SundayMorning with Charles Kuralt. Excerpt from "Maine According to Philip Barter" Recognition Massachusetts' DeCordova Museum In 1988, included six of his narratives in their traveling exhibition Stories to Tell: The Narrative Impulse in Contemporary New England Folk Art. Bates College In 1982, honored him with his first retrospective for his quarter century contribution to Maine Art. Down East Magazine August 1993, appeared in Maine's own popular magazine ("One Happy Fella") for the first time. CBS's Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt January, 1995, gained national attention when he appeared on the show, introduced by Tim Sample, Maine's Ambassador of Humor. In His Sixtieth Year Art is the blood of Philip Barter's life; it is what keeps him going, what nourishes, fuels and refuels his imagination and ignites his zest for life. Now in his sixties, there is not the slightest indication - despite some recent physical intrusions in his life - of a slowing down, either in his prodigious output or in his creative powers or in his Merlin-like imagination with which for four decades now he has continued to conceive and realize fresh, startling interpretations of his native state. He is an artist always in transition, always on the climb, always eager to push the boundaries of his aesthetic to new horizons and with new challenges. He is the perpetual student, the tireless learner, open, accomodating, excited by new ideas. His often heard remark, "my best work is still ahead of me," underscores his dauntless, restless optimism and artistic reach. In the last decade his achievements have been marked by a maturity, skill and fluency of handling, and increased poetic expressiveness, and lyrical feel for line, a bright but cooler palette, and a vision of Maine that is singularly his own. For those of us who have followed Philip Barter's career with eager interest, rejoicing in his accomplishments, marveling at his unimpeded development as an artist, the future, as it relates to his art, will be worth waiting for. Courtesy of Lyle Roger North Philip Barter is represented at: The Porland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine The Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, Maine Bates College, Lewiston, Maine Should you wish more information regarding the accomplishments of Phil Barter, theartist will be glad to furnish any additional information upon request. |