James William "Bo" Bartlett III (American, Georgia b. 1955) oil on board depicting two young girls by a pool. Signed in red lower right with artist monogram IGN and inscribed on back "BARTLETT, IGN, 1984/ For Gloria, Thanks, Bo Bartlett 1990". Excellent condition. Sight ñ 7 1/4" H X 9 3/4" W. Framed ñ 14" H X 16 5/8" W. Biography (Charles T. Butler, Columbus Museum) ñ Bo Bartlett was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1955. As a child, he was fascinated by drawing and art in general. Realizing his path in life early on, he began to pursue those artists that would offer guidance, which would provide the foundations of his artistic vision. The first place that Bartlett visited was Florence, Italy, where in 1974, he went to study with Ben Long and then to Boston to study with Ives Gammel. After Boston, Bartlett moved to New York to study with Aaron Shikler and Harvey Dinnerstein. In 1975, Bartlett moved to Philadelphia so that he could attend the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (where Bartlett studied under Ben Kamihira, Morris Blackburn, and Sidney Goodman). Bartlett also worked with Nelson Shanks. In the tradition of Thomas Eakins, Bartlett studied anatomy at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University. In 1993, Bo Bartlett received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. His paintings are usually figurative, large scale and charged with spiritual, psychological and art historical meanings. His family regularly appears in his work. Bartlett lives and works in Seattle, Philadelphia, Columbus and Maine, but in many cases his artwork is rooted in a Southern Gothic tradition where the desperation and frustration being suffered by the characters are reminiscent of the work of Faulkner or Williams.