December 29, Born James William Bartlett III in Columbus, Georgia
1974
Travels to Florence, Italy, studies privately with Ben F. Long IV.
Returns to Columbus, Georgia, marries.
1975
First son Will is born.
Moves to Philadelphia.
Enrolls in Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts)
1976
Transfers to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)
1977
Awarded Packard Prize, PAFA 1977–78
Studies Privately with Nelson Shanks, Andalusia, Pennsylvania
Studies anatomy at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
1978
Awarded Charles Toppan Prize, PAFA 1979
1979
Cresson Show, PAFA (Group Exhibition)
Awarded Cecelia Beaux Memorial Portriat Prize, PAFA
Travels to Europe
1980
Cresson Show, PAFA (Group Exhibition)
Awarded Eleanor S. Gray Still Life Prize
Awarded First Thouron Prize
Receives Benjamin Lanard Memorial Award
Awarded William Emlen Cresson Traveling Scholarship, PAFA
Travels to Europe and the Middle East
Midyear Show, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (Group Exhibition)
Included in “81 People to Watch,” Philadelphia Magazine. (Publication)
1980–81
Studies Liberal Arts at University of Pennsylvania
1981
Cresson Show, PAFA (Group Exhibition)
Second son Man is born.
Receives Certificate of Fine Art, PAFA
Awarded Benjamin Lanard Memorial Prize
1982
Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (First Solo Exhibition in Philadelphia)
The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA acquires Assignation
1983
Columbus Museum of Arts, Columbus, GA (Solo Exhibition)
1984
Organizes Disdain for False Authorities, Alternative Space, Philadelphia, PA (Group Exhibition with PAFA Alumni: Vincent Desiderio, Richard Ranck, Thomas Sarrantonio, and Robert Simon)
1986
Receives Certificate in Filmmaking, New York University
Article by Bill Scott, “Bo Bartlett, A Young Artist with Ambitions,” American Artist, Sept. 1986 (Cover)
First visit to Prouts Neck, Maine
Third son Eliot is born.
Named “Best Artist in Philly,” Philadelphia Magazine, Lisa DePaulo
1988
Sublimism: New Paintings and Drawings (Independent Solo Exhibition at the Cast Iron Building in Philadelphia, PA)
P·P·O·W Gallery, New York, NY (First Solo Exhibition in New York)
1989
Review by Ken Johnson, “Bo Bartlett at P·P·O·W.,” Art in America, June 1989
Review by Catherine Liu, “Bo Bartlett P·P·O·W.,” Art Forum, March 1989
Love and Charity: The Tradition of Caritas in Contemporary Painting (Traveling Group Exhibition organized by Sherry French Gallery)
Trains and Planes: The Influence of Locomotion in American Painting (Traveling Group Exhibition organized by Sherry French Gallery)
Revelation and Devotion:The Spirit of Religion in Contemporary Painting, (Traveling Group Exhibition organized by Sherry French Gallery)
1990
Review by Vivien Raynor, “By Train and Plane and, Oh Yes, the Car”, New York Times, April 29, 1990.
Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC (Solo Exhibition)
Contemporary Philadelphia Artists, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (Group Exhibition)
Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC acquires Lamb
1991
P·P·O·W, New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
Review by Roberta Smith, New York Times, Jan. 25 1991
Review by Jennifer P. Borum, Artforum, April 1991
Three on the Figure, Butler Art Institute, Youngstown, OH (Group Exhibition)
Ex-Patriots, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA (Group Exhibition)
Ten Contemporary Philadelphia Painters, Westmoreland Museum of Art, Greensburg, PA (Group Exhibition)
Art for Your Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (Group Exhibition)
1992
Begins work with Betsy Wyeth on Snow Hill documentary film on the life and art of Andrew Wyeth
Beyond Realism: Image and Enigma, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA. Curated by Paul Binai. (Group Exhibition)
1992
Daniel Saxon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Exhibition)
1993
Awarded PEW Fellowship in the Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts,
Philadelphia, PA acquires Tender
More Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
F.A.N. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
1994
P·P·O·W New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
1995
25 Years, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Group Exhibition)
Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL (Solo Exhibition)
Completes Snow Hill, documentary film on the life and art of Andrew Wyeth
Spends summer on Benner Island, Maine with Andrew and Betsy Wyeth
First visit to Matinicus Island, Maine
1996
Snow Hill receives CINE Golden Eagle Award, Gold Apple Award – National Educational Media Network Awards, Best Documentary – Hot Springs DFF, Best Biography – CINDY Awards, and Best Documentary – Philadelphia FVF
The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, GA acquires Homecoming
Heroic Painting, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL, Queens Museum of Art, New York, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN, The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, University Gallery, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, and Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ (Travelling Group Exhibition)
Review by Peter Schjeldahl, “Heroism Addiction,” The Village Voice, Aug. 6, 1996
Review by David Zimmerman, “Art Exhibit Casts a Critical Eye at Common Concepts of Heroism,” USA Today, Oct. 29, 1996
Review by Michael Kimmelman, “History Painting: Yes, Those Enormous Canvases”, The New York Times, Aug. 30
Review by Ruth Bass, “When a Rose is a Rose,” Art News, Feb. 1996
Reality Bites: Realism in Contemporary Art, The Kemper Musuem of Contemporary Art and Design, Kansas City, MO (Group Exhibition)
Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS (Solo Exhibition)
1996
P·P·O·W, New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
F.A.N. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
1997
Re-Presenting Representation III, Arnot Art
Museum, Elmira, NY (Group Exhibition)
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA (Solo Exhibition)
More Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
1998
Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO acquires Wedding
Purchases Wheaton Island, Maine
1998-99
Oil Patch Dreams, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX, The Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX, The El Paso Art Museum, El Paso, TX, Austin Museum P·P·O·W New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
1999
Rockford Art Museum, Rockford,IL (Solo Exhibition)
Torch, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Solo Exhibition)
Indomitable Spirits: The Figure at the end of the Century, The Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA (Group Exhibition)
Changing Faces: Contemporary Portraiture, Jim Kemper Fine Art, New York, NY (Group Exhibition) Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA acquires The Art of Drawing
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA acquires Heartland
2000
Hunter Museum of American Art, TN acquires The Babysitter
Water Series, University at Buffalo Art Gallery, SUNY, Buffalo, NY (Solo Exhibition)
Water Series, P·P·O·W New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
In the Shadow of the Flag, Tippy Stern Fine Art, Charleston, SC (Group Exhibition)
2001
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Solo Exhibition)
The More Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
Figurately Literal: Contemporary Paintings from Metro-Detroit Collections, Elain L. Jacob Gallery at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI (Group Exhibition)
2002
Aquaria, Traveling Exhibition originating at Aufsttellung in der Ausstellung, Linz, Austria (Group Exhibition)
P·P·O·W, New York (Solo Exhibition)
2003
Transforming the Commonplace, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA (Group Exhibition)
Review by Joe Hill, “Bo Bartlett at P·P·O·W.” Art in America, Jan. 2003
Edie Caldwell Gallery, Sausalito, CA (Group Exhibition)
2003-04
Heartland: Paintings by Bo Bartlett 1978- 2002, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC, Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA, Heartland, Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (Travelling mid-career Retrospective Exhibition)
2004
Travels around the world
Still Point of the Turning World, P·P·O·W, New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
Paintings for TIME, to accompany article: “Person of the Year, The American Soldier”, December 29, 2003-January 5, 2004, p. 32.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA (Solo Exhibition)
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA acquires History Lesson
21, P·P·O·W, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
US Artists American Fine Art Show, Philadelphia, PA (Group Exhibition)
Innocence Found, DFN Gallery, New York, NY(Group Exhibition)
6th Annual Realism Invitational, Karen Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Group Exhibition)
Not Just Another Pretty Vase: A Comprehensive Exhibition Still Life Painting, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara (Group Exhibition)
The Art Show, ADAA, New York, NY
2005
Moves to Seattle
Figuration, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA (Group Exhibition)
In Limbo, Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, Denver, CO (Group Exhibition)
Then as Now, Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, PA (Group Exhibition)
2006
This Inner/Outer World, P·P·O·W Gallery NY (Solo Exhibition)
Review, “This Inner Outer World,” Art in America, Dec. 2006.
Manifest Destiny, Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle, WA ( Solo Exhibition)
2007
Marries painter Betsy Eby.
Still Point, Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, ME (Solo Exhibition)
Travelogue, Somerville Manning, Greensville, DE (Solo Exhibition)
Solstice, David Floria Gallery, Aspen CO (Group Exhibition)
Art Chicago Contemporary Art Fair , P·P·O·W , New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
PULSE Contemporary Art Fair , P·P·O·W, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
2008
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA acquires The Low Road
Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT acquires America
US Artists, Philadelphia, PA ( Solo Exhibition)
Direct Encounters: Essence of Portraiture, Forum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition)
Art Chicago Contemporary Art Fair, P·P·O·W, Chicago, IL (Group Exhibition)
Betsy Eby & Bo Bartlett: New Works, David Floria Gallery, Aspen, CO (Group Exhibition)
Los Angeles Art Show, Los Angeles, CA (Group Exhibition)
People, Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
Yesterday and Today PAFA Alumni Invitational, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (Group Exhibition)
Pulse Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL (Group Exhibition)
2009
Bo Bartlett, Forum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Exhibition)
Forum Gallery, New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI (Solo Exhibition)
A Consise History of Northwest Art, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (Group Exhibition)
PAFA Alumni Invitational: Legacies, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Pennsylvaina, PA (Group Exhibition)
Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT
acquires The Triumph of Romance
The Figure – Then and Now, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA, Center of Creative Arts, St
Louis, MO, and The Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY (Travelling Group Exhibition)
Bo Bartlett: Paintings 1984 – 2000, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans, LA (Solo Exhibition)
Enchantment, Joseloff Gallery, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT (Group Exhibition)
Personal Territory, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, M (Group Exhibition)
Legacies: Works by Twelve Former Students of Elizabeth Osborne and Sidney Goodman, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (Group Exhibition)
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (Group Exhibition)
Center of Creative Arts, St Louis, MI(Group Exhibition)
The Armory Show, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
Art Chicago, Chicago, Il (Group Exhibition)
American Green , Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE (Group Exhibition)
Five Artists of Accomplishment from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE (Group Exhibition)
2010
American Masters, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE (Group Exhibition)
Thriving In Seattle: A Retrospective, GAGE Academy of Art, Seattle, WA (Group Exhibition)
Private (dis)play, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
Figure As Narrative, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA (Group Exhibition)
Paintings of Home, P·P·O·W Gallery, New York, NY (Solo Exhibition)
US Artists Fine Art Show , Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (Solo Exhibition)
My Summer Vacation, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA (Group Exhibition)
Solemn and Sublime: Contemporary Figure Painting, Akus Gallery, Eastern Con State University (Group Exhibition)
Dowling Walsh Gallery, Rockland, Maine (Solo Exhibition)
2011
Paintings of Home, CSU Department of Art, The Norman Shannon and Emmy Lou P. Illges Gallery Columbus, GA (Solo Exhibition)
A Survey of Paintings, W.C. Bradley Co. Museum, Columbus, GA (Solo Exhibition)
Sketchbooks Journals and Studies, Columbus Bank and Trust, Columbus, GA
Real: Realism in Diverse Media, Imago Galleries, Palm Desert, CA (Group Exhibition)
2012
Moves to Columbus Georgia to open The Bo Bartlett Center
Bo Bartlett, David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI
Best of the Northwest, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma WA (Group Exhibition)
Perception of Self, Forum Gallery, New York NY (Group Exhibition )
Not So Silent Benefit, Flux Factory, Long Island City, NY (Group Exhibition)
Texas Contemporary Art Fair, P·P·O·W, Houston TX (Group Exhibition)
2013
Receives the Brookstone Distinguished Alumni Award
Love and Other Sacraments, Dowling Walsh Gallery, Rockland, ME
Nocturnes: Romancing the Night, National Arts Club, New York, NY (Group Exhibition)
The Philadelphia Story: Contemporary Figurative Work Drawn from the Academy, Asheville Art
Museum, Asheville, NC (Group Exhibition)
The Outwin Boochever 2013 Portrait Competition Exhibition, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC
The University of Mississippi Museum, Oxford, MS (Solo Exhibition)
2014
Art Chicago, Ameringer McEnery & Yohe (Group Exhibition)
Youngest son, Eliot, passes away
Receives the Columbus State University Honorary Alumni Award
Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA (Solo Exhibition)
701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia, SC (Solo Exhibition)
2015
Art Basel, Miami Beach, Ameringer McEnery & Yohe (Group Exhibition)
American Masters, Somerville Manning Gallery, DE (Group Exhibition)