Dana Bartlett

Dana Bartlett (1882-1957)

Dana Bartlett was one of the first early California Impressionists artists in Los Angeles where he became an important leader in the art community. Bartlett was born in Iona, MI on Nov. 19, 1882. After studying at the Art Student League in New York under the William M. Chase and Charles Warren Eaton, Bartlett had a studio in Boston. Bartlett then moved to Portland, OR where he worked as a commercial artist for the Foster-Kleiser Co. About 1915, he briefly had a studio in San Francisco before making his final move to Los Angeles.

He furthered his art training with Coussens in Paris (1924) and made a special study of how Titian, Turner and Monticelli applied their color. Upon his return he experimented with the use of Venetian tempera as an under painting resulting in imaginative paintings with brilliant, jewel-like glowing colors. In 1927 he held a successful solo show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The following year he opened and art gallery in Los Angeles where he exhibited his painting and those of other local artists.

Bartlett was an active member of the Southern California art community for over 40 years and a teacher at Chouinard School of Art. He was a member of the California Art Club (president, 1922) Decorative Arts Society, Western Academy, California Watercolor Society (founder, president, Laguna Beach Art Association, California Printmaker’s Society, and Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles.