Charles W. Bartlett

English painter Charles William Bartlett remains one of the most exceptional, non-Japanese woodblock artists of the twentieth century.

Born on 1 June 1860 in Bridport, England, Bartlett was educated at the famous public school, Clifton, and worked at a metallurgy firm in Bristol before joining the Royal Academy of Arts in London. He moved next to Paris to study under Jules-Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Boulanger at the Académie Julian. It was the Orientalist paintings of Boulanger that provided an impetus for Bartlett’s travels through Asia later on. He was using a variety of techniques, including oil painting, watercolours, etching, and drypoint at this time.

In 1889, grief-stricken upon the death of his wife and child in childbirth, Bartlett travelled through France and Italy with British artist Frank Brangwyn, who introduced him to Japanese woodblock (ukiyo-e) prints. He settled in The Netherlands for a while and his reputation as a watercolourist soared. In December 1913, Bartlett embarked on a tour of Asia with his second wife Catherine, travelling through India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Arriving in Japan in 1915, he was introduced to Watanabe Shozaburo, a print publisher who was a major force in Shin-Hanga (syncretic ukiyo-e) movement. Watanabe urged Bartlett to train in ukiyo-e, and the two embarked on a successful collaboration, creating prints comprising six scenes from India and Japan each.

Leaving Japan in 1917, Bartlett stopped in Honolulu in Hawaii for a one-man show but, smitten by the island, dropped anchor to spend the rest of his life there. He passed away in Honolulu in 1940.