Wyatt Eaton

Self portrait

Charles Wyatt Eaton (born May 6, 1849 in Philipsburg, Québec , † June 7, 1896 in Newport , Rhode Island ) was a Canadian painter.

Eaton was the son of the timber merchant Jonathan W. Eaton and his wife Mary Smith. In the fall of 1867 Eaton was a student at the "National Academy of Design" in New York and was a. a. Taught by Emanuel Leutze . Later, on the recommendation of his teachers, Eaton became a student of Joseph Oriel Eaton (unrelated).

In 1867 Eaton was instrumental in founding the "Society of Canadian artists". In the summer of 1868 he returned to his hometown and settled there as a freelance painter. Two years later Eaton went on a study trip to London , which also took him to Paris in the summer of 1872 . In October of the same year he became a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts .

Through his teacher Gérôme, Eaton also made the acquaintance of Jean-François Millet , who took him to Barbizon and introduced him to the group of artists there. During this time his friendship with Jules Bastien-Lepage began . On September 24, 1874, Eaton married Constance Laure Papelard in Paris.

In 1876 Eaton returned to Canada with his wife and settled in Philipsburg. In January of the following year, the Cooper Union appointed him its new professor; he also did some commissioned work for various magazines; u. a. "Century Magazine".

Eaton worked in France between 1883 and 1884 and then returned to Philippsburg. On February 7, 1886, his wife died and on July 23, 1887, he married Charlotte Amelia Collins for the second time.

From 1892 to 1893 Eaton lived and worked in Montreal , where he not only portrayed prominent contemporaries, but also helped found the Canadian Artist Association. The following year, Eaton more or less withdrew into private life. One of his last works was a book about his friend Jean-François Millet.

In 1895 he tried to cure his illness with a longer stay. Apparently cured, he returned to New York via London. The painter Wyatt Eaton died of tuberculosis on June 7, 1896 in Newport, RI, at the age of 47 ; the same day as his wife.

Works (selection)

• Portrait of George Stephen
• Portrait of Sir Donald Smith
• Portrait of William Van Horne
• Farmer's Boy (1870)
• Harvester's Rest (1879)
• Grandfather and Child (1880)

Works (literature)

• Jean-François Millet. van Dyke, New York 1896.

literature

• Wyatt Eaton . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).