Charles was born on 10 July 1837, in Paris, he died 3 November 1894 at Ecouen, , Northern France. He was a painter of genre scenes, landscapes, landscapes with figures, animals, particularly horses.
Charles was the son of Pierre-Edouard Frère (1819-1886) and nephew of Théodore Frère (1814-1888) who was an Orientalist painter. He studied initially under his father, and then under Thomas Couture and Alexandre Defaux, before going on to exhibit at the Paris Salon from 1861 to 1893 where he won two second class medals.
Around 1847, Pierre-Edouard Frère settled the family in the village of Ecouen about eight miles from Paris. His home and atelier became the nucleus of a group of students and resident artists that would become known as the Ecole of Ecouen It was an attraction that drew a number of Americans such as Henry Bacon. Mary Cassatt made several visits.
From an early age, Frère painted landscapes, but he so enjoyed painting horses, that the landscapes where often only there as a background. Examples of his work can be found in Museums in Bordeaux, Louviers and Sheffield. The Blacksmith's Forge displayed in Sheffield features very similar horses to the painting below which is in our collection.
He was killed when falling from a galloping horse and cart. His death effectively marked the end of the Ecole d'Écouen.
