San Francisco County
Biographies
CHARLES JOSEPH CARLSON
CHARLES JOSEPH
CARLSON was born in Gottenburg,
Sweden, October 20, 1860. His father, Lars Carlson, came to California
in 1851, and in 1858 went back to his native land, Sweden. He remained there till 1869, when he returned
to California with his wife and
four children, and resided in San Francisco
until his death, which occurred in 1886.
When Charles was
very young he showed an ambition to become an artist, and on February 9, 1874, when in his fourteenth
year, he was admitted as a pupil of the California School of Design, San
Francisco, which was under the directorship of the
late Virgil Williams.
In December, 1876,
he won the silver medal for charcoal drawing of Apollo Belvidere,
and in December of the following year he won the gold medal for a crayon
drawing of Discobolus (now the property of the San
Francisco Art Association) and prize palette for good composition—the first and
only one ever offered. In January, 1877,
he was appointed by the committee on the School
of Design to assist Mr. Virgil
Williams in teaching, and when opportunity offered worked at his own
studies. Christmas of 1882 he was
awarded the gold medal for painting, the picture being a scene from
Shakespeare, of Hamlet and Ophelia, and the size of the canvas 6 x 4 ˝
feet. For this same work he also
received the premiums from the Sacramento
State and Mechanics’ Fairs. In the fall of 1885 he was elected as one of
the instructors at the Sacramento School of Design, which place he held one
year, resigning in order to devote more time to his special vocation, that of
portraiture, at his studio, No. 523 Pine street. In 1886, at the State Fair, he received the
highest reward in portraiture—a silver medal—and premium for the best portrait
in oil, and in 1890, at the Mechanics’ Fair, he received the only premium for
the best specimen in portraiture, at which exhibition were works of artists who
had studied abroad. He has painted
portraits of some of the most prominent people in the State, and is devoting
most of his time in that way, besides drawing illustrations.
Transcribed
by Cathi Skyles.
Source: "The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 2,
page 311-312, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Cathi Skyles.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library