Bengal Cavalry Watercolour by Chater Paul Chater

A fine quality watercolour painting on card of a soldier of the 6th Bengal Cavalry by Chater Paul Chater.

Chater was a self-taught artist who came from an important family in the East. He was born in 1879 and raised in Calcutta by his parents. At around the age of 20 he left for England to study mining engineering but this did not work out. He was then employed by his uncle Sir Paul Chater, the famous Hong Kong businessman, but was not suited to this either. After travelling widely in the East he met his future wife Aileen Balthazar, who was also from a recognized Eastern merchant family. Chater did have a brief military career joining the Hong Kong and Shanghai Volunteers Defence Force but returned to Britain on the outbreak of the WW1. He was commissioned in the Cameronians and fought in France and at Gallipoli, leaving the army as a Captain when peace was declared. Not liking the cold of Britain, he and his wife moved to Nice where he first started to paint the uniforms of the Indian Army. He returned to London in 1931. Although Chater had no formal training his work is known for its fine detail and accuracy. He never painted from life but worked from black and white publications such as the Navy and Army Illustrated and Illustrated London News.

This picture of a 6th Bengal Cavalry is taken from a photo in Types of the Indian Army by Frederick Bremner, published in Quetta 1897. Chater was meticulous in his research getting detail from reference books such as Indian Dress Regulations and by visiting the India Office Library. It is common for artists to either be good at uniforms or faces but Chater excelled at both. His subjects are given character and he worked under a magnifying glass, after his preliminary sketches, to get a finesse of detail and colour. This framed picture is no exception. Signed CPC. Circa 1930.

Framed Size is given.