Original Antique Charles Arthur Fries San Diego California Vintage Antique Plein Air Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting
Born in Hillsboro, Ohio, in 1854, Charles Arthur Fries was a well-known painter, illustrator, lithographer, and teacher. He attended the Art Academy in Cincinnati, at a time when it was considered one of the most notable art academies in the United States; (his fellow students were J. H. Twachtman, Robert Blumen, and Kenyon Cox). Charles Fries achieved great success and fame as a well-published illustrator and portraitist with a studio in New York City, before moving with his family to Southern California and settling in San Diego in 1896. He and his family temporarily lived in the ruins of the unrestored mission in San Juan Capistrano, (San Diego); in 1897. Sporting a Van Dyke beard and flowing black bow tie, he was often seen riding about San Diego on his bicycle with painting gear in its basket. Fries was later referred to as the "Dean of San Diego Painters". He devoted his canvases to landscape painting and focused on the desert, the mountains, and eucalyptus trees. His works are sound in craftsmanship and bright in atmospheric light.
Charles Arthur Fries was a member of the San Diego Art Guild; Laguna Beach AA; La Jolla AA; Calif. Art Club; San Diego Contemporary Artists. Exhibited: California State Fair, 1930; California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego 1935; GGIE, 1939, Awards: silver medal, Seattle Fine Arts Society, 1911; silver medal, Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915. His works are held by the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego History Center.
Original, antique Charles Arthur Fries California Plein Air Impressionist oil painting on American Mill Board, measures approximately, 12"X 17 3/4". In frame, the painting measures, 14.5"X 20.5". Beautiful painting; the light is soft and warm. With the lovely way the cottage was rendered, the house may have been a special place for the artist; possibly his house, or the house of a neighbor, or a close family member. Estimated to have been painted 1898-1900, when the artist first arrived in San Diego, California. The painting is in, (excellent), original condition; (no overpaints, no restoration). Original gallery/framers label on reverse, from Palm Springs. Signed lower right, along the bottom. Due to the lightness of the signature, (FR being the most visible); the painting is listed after/in the manner of Charles Arthur Fries. A highly detailed painting by the artist shows a house nestled in the valley, with eucalyptus trees reflecting the light, and shadowing along the ground; a lovely lavender purple mountain range, in the distance, with evergreen and mint brush.
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