Charles J. Bridgman (1841 to 1895).
Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Charles J. Bridgman studied at the National Academy of Design, Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Academie Julien. As an accomplished artist, Bridgman lived intermittently between Paris and New York City. Known for his genre scenes and figurative paintings, Bridgman evidently, by the exhibited title of his paintings, traveled to both New Orleans and Brittany. While in Brittany, he painted this charming image of French Carnival during the late nineteenth century. As the masked revelers pass on the street outside their home, the children are dressing in the costumes in anticipation of joining in on the celebration.
Reference: Peter Falk, ed., Who was Who in America: 1564-1975, Sound View Press, 1999, p. 440.
Information courtesy of Neal Auction Company, December 2007.