The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 2001, Volume 47, Number 3
Gregg Hennessey, Editor
Harbor Night
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Upson Board, 1936-7
Signed and dated LR: Charles Reiffel, 1937
Inscribed on reverse of board: “Old National City, 1936”
36 x 47 7/8 inches
Courtesy of the City of San Diego
Desert Landscape
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Upson Board
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
18 x 19 3/4 inches
Courtesy of Gregg and Melinda Hennessey
The Painting Class
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Board, 1929-mid 1930s
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
17 7/8 x 19 7/8 inches
Courtesy of Estelle and Jim Milch
The Rancher
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Board, 1933
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
Inscribed on frame: “The Rancher by Charles Reiffel #18, 1933”
20 x 24 inches
Gift of Elsie Nanninga, 86.82
The River Bed
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Upson Board, 1930-35
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
Signed and titled on reverse
20 1/4 x 23 3/4 inches
Courtesy of Joy and Gary Spradling and Dr. Albert and Sharon Cutri
Mountains
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Canvas, mid 1930s
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
Gallery tag on frame
28 x 34 inches
Gift of the Estate of Helen Marston Beardsley, 82.47.1
San Diego Back Country
Charles Reiffel
American, 1862-1942
Oil on Board, mid 1930s
Signed LR: Charles Reiffel
30 x 36 inches
Courtesy of Estelle and Jim Milch, and Sarah Alvarez-Milch
Reiffel, Charles (1862-1942)
Landscape painter, lithographer
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 9, 1862. Reiffel worked in Cincinnati for the Stowbridge Lithography Company and later continued in Lithography in NYC and England. While in Europe, he studied briefly with Carl Marr at the Munich Academy, but was essentially a self-taught painter. After six years in Europe, he returned to Buffalo, NY shortly after the turn of the century and continued in the lithography business. It was during this period that his modern approach to painting began to attract favorable notices. In 1912 he purchased a home in Silvermine, Connecticut while continuing to commute to New York City to tend to his lithography business. About 1921 Reiffel abandoned lithography to devote full time to easel painting. In 1925 he and his wife visited San Diego and were so enchanted with the area they opted to remain. His Southern California landscapes brought him national acclaim before his death in San Diego on March 14, 1942. Member: Arts Club of Washington, DC; Buffalo Society of Artist; California Art Club; Chicago Galleries Ass’n; Cincinnati Art Club; Conn. Society of Artists; Contemporary Artists of San Diego; Indiana Federation of Artists; Laguna Beach AA; Salmagundi Club; San Diego Art Guild; Silvermine Group of Artists; Allied AA; Hoosier Salon; North Shore AA. Exhibited: Buffalo Society of Artist, 1908; AIC, 1917; PPIE, 1915; CAFA, 1920; Int’l Exposition, Pittsburgh, 1922; Stendahls, LA, 1927; California State Fair, 1930; California Pacific Int’l Exposition, San Diego, 1935; GGIE, 1939. Awards: dozens from 1908. Works held: San Diego History Center; CGA; San Diego Museum of Art; LACMA; Phoenix Municipal Collection; Santa Cruz Art League. Source: AAA 1919-33; WWAA 1936-41; WWC 1942; Fld; PAP; SCA; Ben; PPIE cat.
