Charles X. Carlson
1902-1991
Charles X. Carlson was an American Visual Artist born on June 26, 1902 to farmer immigrants from Finland who moved to the United States in 1888. Charles was one of nine brothers and sisters. He began painting at 7, decorating chalkboards. Due to an adolescent illness, dropped out of school at 12 by influence of his father and worked multiple jobs throughout the next 10 years of his life. While working he continued to paint the constant changing environment he lived in. He received formal art training at Crane Technical College and Chicago Art Institute in Illinois, as well as the National Academy of Design at the Arts Student League in New York City. His studies took him abroad to Belgium and Germany. After all of his education and training, he holds his time at the Chicago Art Institute in highest regard. Carlson was an illustrator, cartoonist, mural painter and teacher. He painted through the Great Depression, making small pictures and selling a lot of them for small amounts of money. Carlson was always very business-minded and knew hard work would bring him wealth. He is credited for painting murals for Ford, General Motors and the Historical Museum of New York. 100s of his paintings are held around the world in private collections. He also worked for the War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations during World War II, drawing many publicity items. After the war he continued to work for the government at the Pentagon, emphasizing the “good neighbor policy.” He painted murals and put together exhibits for numerous countries in North, South and Central America. He was an expert in all painting methods, but enjoyed watercolor painting the most because it was the fastest. HE claimed he could paint a scene in 30 minutes with watercolor. Carlson’s fast painting ability is why he was able to create so many fantastic paintings that are held around the world. HE created over 750 paintings during his time supporting the “good neighbor policy.” After his work for the government, Carlson and his wife Lois settled in Lancaster Pennsylvania in 1947. Carlson continued to teach painting as well as author numerous illustration books. Carlson was an incredible artist who loved painting and desired to share it with others. He used painting to help him in every aspect of his life. It made his early jobs interesting and eventually became his main source of income. He used it to support his country during the war and eventually to make the world a better place by instilling art history into 3rd world countries. His niece and nephews openly share how little time they spent with Carlson, but how much of an impact he had on their lives. Most of them are employed in an artistic-ability requiring occupation, which was influenced by Carlson’s teachings at family gatherings. Carlson’s paintings are internationally collected and he is recognized for countless achievements including being the first painter to be paid by the National Gallery of Art in our nations capital. Most of his murals can still be seen around New York City. Carlson passed away June 15, 1991, at the age of 89 but his paintings and teachings will last throughout many generations to come.