Morton Bartlett was a private man whose passion was creating a fantasy
family - a superlative group of perfectly sculpted children, aged mainly
6 -16, wearing meticulously hand-made clothes and specially constructed
wigs. Dressed and posed, they were then photographed in staged scenarios,
at once both quotidian and dramatic: reading in bed, at ballet class, scolding
a toy dog, smiling sweetly, crying in disappointment, simply sitting at
home or playing on the beach.
This fantasy world crossed over into reality in 1963 when it became public,
fleetingly, in a Yankee Magazine article. Although authorized by
Bartlett himself, the attention and praise which followed surprised him,
and led to this remarkable body of work being packed away, each child in
its own container, to remain unseen for the next thirty years.
Still wrapped in 1963 newspapers, it was discovered by Marion Harris who
made the work public again in 1993 with an exhibit and accompanying catalogue,
FAMILY FOUND. Since then Bartlett's work has received wide acclaim,
and with his work in major museums and private collections, the story seemed
to be as complete as his family.
Until now. Almost fifteen years later, a group of original color slides
by Morton Bartlett, recently discovered by a Californian collector, are
now available as contemporary prints and will be included in The Sweethearts
of Mr. Bartlett. Never before seen in color, these large images mirror
Bartlett's sculptures, amplifying not only the details of his work, but
also our insight into it.
Modern prints 1955-2006 [view
images]