Caroline Peart Papers

Caroline Peart, daughter of John Peart and Martha Herr Peart, was born in 1870 in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. When she was seven, the family moved to the city of Philadelphia where her father became a prosperous lumber dealer. Caroline was educated at the Philadelphia Friends School and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1888, she went to Europe to travel and study in Italy, Spain, and France. She returned from Europe in 1892, and resided with her parents on Vine Street in Philadelphia. In 1898, she was awarded the Mary Smith Prize from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1899, she again traveled to Paris and Madrid. Upon her return, she opened her own studio on Chestnut Street where she regularly received criticism from artist Cecilia Beaux. In 1901, she was asked to exhibit at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. Her work was also exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum, and the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC. In 1905, the Peart family moved to "Androssan" in West Chester, PA. Her father died the following year, and Caroline abandoned painting completely. She continued to live with her mother at Androssan for a number of years. After a brief three-year marriage to art collector and critic Christian Brinton, she moved to Atlantic City, NJ with her mother in 1920. Her mother later returned to the family home in Washington Borough, Lancaster County. After her mother's death in 1940, Caroline moved into the Washington Borough family home and resided there until her death in 1963.