Charles Caryl Coleman resided on the breathtaking Italian island of Capri from 1886 until his death in 1928, becoming an individual leader in the local art community. Coleman’s paintings from this period depict Capri’s flawless beauty and reveal his devotion to the island’s historical legacy.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Coleman to many European destinations, including Paris and Rome, before permanently settling in Capri. There he wove himself into the grain of the culture, becoming a leader of local art community. Life on the island isolated Coleman from the popular artistic styles of the Hudson River School, Impressionism, and Tonalism, and his brief studies with the eccentric painter William Holbrook Beard aided his developing sense of individualism. His Capri paintings draw from the style of the international Aesthetic movement, emphasizing the opulent qualities of the island landscape. A known collector of decorative art, Coleman filled his studio with tapestries, vases, and other ornamental pieces. These objects created an exotic atmosphere for painting, inspiring him to incorporate an element of richness into his canvases.

During his successful career, Coleman exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Academy, the Boston Athenaeum, the Boston Art Club, the National Academy of Design, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, amongst other prestigious venues. His paintings are now in the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.