Born Minesota, 1885
Died California, 1951
Bartlett was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and as a child sketched cowboys. Around 1890, he moved to Colorado where he became a working cowboy. Although he enjoyed the life his true passion was art. Deciding he wanted to be an artist and not a rancher, he studied at the Greeley, Colorado Art School and then on a scholarship at the Chicago Art Institute.
The death of his mother brought him back to Denver. He gave up his art training and went to work as a commercial artist, employed by various photo-engraving companies, to help support the family. He had many such jobs in Denver and other western and Midwestern cities. After marrying, he borrowed $1,800.00 and bought an interest in an engraving firm. The business prospered and, in 1937, Bartlett retired and moved to California
In Los Angeles he pursued his true love-- painting, something he hadn't done for thirty years. Despite being neglected for so many years, his skill with a brush and his eye for color did not fail him, and his early sketches refreshed his memory. With his camera and notebook he traveled extensively in Colorado, Utah, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, capturing the West he remembered so well as a boy. At times he lived among the Indians, while maintaining studios in Los Angeles and in Moab, Utah.
Member: California Art Club; Painters and Sculpters of Los Angeles
Exhibited: Society of Independent Artists
Work: Arizona State University, Santa Fe Railroad Collection