1940

Bells No. 6

American, 1866 - 1942

After graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, in 1883, Henry McCarter embarked on a highly successful and lucrative career as an illustrator for weekly journals such as the Philadelphia Press. In 1902, he began teaching at the Academy, where Arthur B. Carles was among the many renowned students in his illustration classes. Over the course of his long career, the artist’s paintings grew increasingly abstract in nature. This work is part of a series in which McCarter aimed to capture the chime of bells by visual means. The largest and possibly the last of this series, Bells No. 6 evokes both the timbre and vibration of chiming bells through vibrant colors and a dynamic composition.