Charles Baxter

British 1809 - 1879

Charles Baxter was a painter of fancy portraits and of charming pretty girls. He lived and worked in London. Baxter exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1834 and 1872; he also exhibited at Suffolk Street.

Many of Baxter’s paintings included poetic and rustic subjects. He started his career as a bookbinder and miniature painter.

Female beauty was much prized in the 19th Century. For the first time, large numbers of pictures were painted whose sole raison d’être was a depiction of such beauty; not so much in the form of specific portraiture, but more as a homage to feminine beauty in its own right.

Charles Baxter takes his subjects and captures on canvas an image which is beautiful, gentle, sweet and somewhat coy. Baxter spread his net far and wide, painting beauties of all social classes, but undoubtedly his favourite subjects were figures from the aristocracy.

Charles was elected a member of the Society of British Artists in 1842, his studio sale was held at Christie’s on 15 March 1879.