Hawthorne-232-Pa

Charles Webster Hawthorne studied at the Art Students League 1893-1896.   In 1896 Hawthorne attended the Shinnecock Summer School at Southampton, New York where he studied with William Merritt Chase.  Hawthorne became Chase’s Assistant but when Chase closed his school in 1898 Hawthorne departed for Europe.  In Europe Hawthorne painted in the sea side city of Zandvoort in the Netherlands.  It was there that he was exposed to the paintings of Frans Hals that deeply influenced him. In 1899 he opened the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, marking the beginning of Provincetown as an art colony.  Hawthorne influenced many of his students, among them Ross Moffett and Edwin Dickinson.  Dickinson said of Hawthorne: “The best teacher I ever knew”. He was awarded many prizes in his lifetime and had many paintings selected for purchase by institutions sponsoring exhibitions.  He helped found the Provincetown Art Association in 1914 and served as Honorary Vice President until his death in 1930.  Charles Webster Hawthorne is buried in Provincetown.