Exploring the Life and Legacy of Charles Ethan Porter, “the Hartford artist”

The noted painter Charles Ethan Porter (1847–1923), was born in Connecticut and at times maintained a studio in Frederic Church’s hometown of Hartford where he exhibited locally. He became associated with the area and was described in local newspapers as “the Hartford artist.” During this virtual webinar, learn more about Porter’s accomplished still life and landscape paintings that were collected by prominent figures like Church and Mark Twain. Join curator Erin Monroe as she examines the challenges Porter faced navigating racial inequality and prejudices as a Black artist working in the post-Civil War era. Combining new research and archival resources, this presentation will explore Porter’s life and legacy in Hartford and connect his story to a wide range of topics, from changing American taste to the abolitionist movement.

Erin Monroe is the Krieble Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. She has led the department since 2016 and oversees an extensive collection encompassing colonial portraiture, nineteenth-century landscapes, neoclassical sculpture, modernism/surrealism, and mid-century abstraction. Drawing upon the strengths of the museum’s holdings, she has curated Andrew Wyeth: Looking Beyond; Gorey’s Worlds; and Paul Manship: Ancient Made Modern, the first museum exhibition on the artist in thirty years. She served as the in-house curator for Milton Avery, organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, and Frederic Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage, organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts. Monroe holds an M.A. in art history from Hunter College (CUNY), and obtained a B.A. in art history from Northwestern University, with a minor in African studies.