Lyell Carr

Lyell Carr (American, 1857–1912)

This work is offered in a fluted carved giltwood frame.

Lyell Carr was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1857. By the time he was 23, he had a studio in that city, but in late 1880 or early 1881, he moved to New York, which he would make his home for the rest of his life. There, he would become associated with artists of the National Academy of Design and the Society of American Artists.

For one year, in 1884, Carr studied in Paris. He enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts, where his teachers were Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Boulanger. These masters emphasized the importance of drawing to good painting. The effect of their training on Carr was such that his style throughout his career was characterized by the firm definition of form and a realistic handling of space.

Returning to New York, regularly exhibited his paintings in the large annuals at the National Academy of Design and The Art Institute of Chicago. His paintings entered many fine collections. A Ride Home at Sunset (1891) was purchased from Carr by Thomas Benedict Clarke of New York, who was at that time the leading patron of contemporary American artists. In the Clarke home, Carr’s painting hung with those of Winslow Homer, Frederic E. Church and Thomas Moran.

Carr was at the height of his popularity when he died quite suddenly in his studio on February 17, 1912.

Signed Lyell Carr (lower left)