The Gambler

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, William Carter (1909-1996) moved to Chicago in 1930, situating him in the midst of the Depression-era migration of African-Americans from the American South. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois and was part of the WPA's Illinois Federal Art Project from 1937-39 and the Illinois Art and Craft Project (1943). He was an instructor at the South Side Community Arts Center of Chicago. While part of the WPA, he worked alongside Eldzier Cortor, Charles White, Earl Walker, Charles Davis and other noted African-American artists. Carter worked in several media including pastel, watercolor, ink, gouache and oils. Like many artists of the 1930s, he also painted in tempera, a medium that lent itself to the narrative scenes and murals of the 1930s and which was then enjoying a revival. Carter worked in both representational and abstract styles. Among his most successful paintings are his still lifes and nudes which, while representational, are nevertheless influenced by his interest in abstraction. Executed in a loose style with bright colors, they playfully interpret shapes and perspective.

Carter exhibited in the Chicago area at the Art League, Hull House, South Side Community Art Center, the Art Institute, and the American Negro Exposition of 1940. He also exhibited at Atlanta University, Howard University, the Library of Congress, Smith College, City Art Museum of St. Louis, and the Boston Institute of Modern Art. His works are in collections at the Art Institute of Chicago, the DuSable Museum of African-American Art, and the South Side Community Art Center.