The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 2001, Volume 47, Number 3
Gregg Hennessey, Editor
View of San Diego Bay
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, circa 1898
Signed LR: C. A. Fries
13 3/8 x 20 7/8 inches
Courtesy of Alice Klauber Miller
Eucalyptus Grove-Balboa Park before the Exposition
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, circa 1910
Signed LL: C. A. Fries
Titled in the frame, titled and numbered on reverse: #1498
18 x 14 inches
Courtesy of Mrs. Alice Psaute, granddaughter of the artist
Rocks at Ocean Beach
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, 1910s
Signed LR: C. A. Fries
Titled and numbered on reverse: #349
12 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Spillard, 76.15.7
Foot of A Street
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, 1908
Signed LR: C. A. Fries
Titled and numbered on reverse: #286 14 x 24 1/8 inches
Gift of Ferdinand T. Fletcher, 97.22
Red Sky at Morning is Sailor’s Warning: Wind Driven Clouds
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, April 1929
Signed LR: C. A. Fries
Ttitled, inscribed, and dated on reverse: “Wind driven clouds #1377 Red in the Morning is the sailors warning San Philipi Valley April 1929”
16 x 23 inches
Gift of Mr. Samuel Durr, 77.23
Tidelands and Beach
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, 1910s
Signed LL: C. A. Fries
6 x 16 3/4 inches
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Spillard, 76.15.1
In Palm Canyon
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, October-November 1926
Signer LR: C. A. Fries
Titled and numbered on reverse: #1298. Coded with artists symbol for price $50. Further inscribed: “Alice F. King, 11 years old, July 23, 1933”
133/4 x 15 3/4 inches
Courtesy of Mrs. Alice Psaute, granddaughter of the artist
Queer Street, Warner Springs
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Oil on Canvas, April-May 1918
Signed LR: C. A. Fries
Inscribed in pencil on reverse: #692
12 x 18 inches
Courtesy of Estelle and Jim Milch
Pages from sketchbook
Charles A. Fries
American, 1854-1940
Pencil and watercolor on paper, circa 1875
Courtesy of Mrs. Alice Psaute, granddaughter of the artist
Fries, Charles Arthur (1854-1940)
Painter, lithographer
Born in Hillsboro, Ohio on August 14, 1854. At age 15 Fries was apprenticed to a lithographer in Cincinnati and, while there attended the McMicken Art Academy and studied portraiture in the studio of Charles Webber. Working from a studio in Cincinnati, he traveled and sketched in the South; his lithographs appeared in Harper’s, Leslie’s, and Century magazines. After marrying in 1887, he moved his studio to NYC where he was popular as an illustrator and portraitist while living on a farm in Vermont. In 1896 the Fries family headed west and, upon arriving in Southern California, temporarily lived in the ruins of the unrestored mission at San Juan Capistrano. Later that year, he and his family settled in San Diego where he remained. 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 his basket. Upon his death in San Diego on December 15, 1940, Fries had recorded in his journal 1700 oil paintings produced in California. He achieved great success and fame as both a well-published lithographer and painter of atmospheric desert landscapes. Member: San Diego Art Guild; Laguna Beach AA; La Jolla AA; California Art Club; San Diego Contemporary Artists. Exhibited: California State Fair, 1930; California Pacific Int’l Exposition, San Diego, 1935; GGIE, 1939. Awards: silver medal, Seattle FA Society, 1911; silver medal Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915. Works held: San Diego History Center; San Diego Museum of Art; CGA. Source: AAA 1903-33; Har; PAP; SCA; Ben; AAW; CA&A; WWAA 1936-41.
“Memories I have Heard, Seen, Suffered and Enjoyed”: The Memoirs of Charles A. Fries
