Born
in Franklin, Massachusetts, Charles Partridge Adams became one of the
famous late 19th and early 20th-century painters of the Rocky Mountains
in Colorado. His signature mountain scenes had dramatic stormy skies of
brilliant sunlight.
In 1876, he and his mother and sister moved
to Denver because of his sister's tuberculosis, and he worked for an
engraver and studied privately with Helen Chain. Extremely attracted to
the scenery, he established a highly successful studio called "The
Sketch Box," and advertised "Landscapes and Crayon Portraits." He
became a charter member of the Denver Artist's Club. In 1882, when
Chain and Adams submitted entries to the Denver Exposition, Adams won
the gold medal, which was quite a distinction, not only for him, but
for Helen Chain.
In the summers, he painted at Estes Park with a
view of Long's Peak, a landmark he depicted many times. He also
traveled south into New Mexico and north into the Tetons and
Yellowstone Park and west to the mountains in California. In 1914, he
made a tour of Europe.
In the early 1920s, he moved to Laguna
Beach, California, where he remained until his death in 1942. In this
period, he painted marine scenes and views of the Sierra Nevada
mountains.
During his lifetime, he completed several thousand
paintings, but he did not document his paintings so the actual number
is unknown. Examples of his work can be found in Colorado at the
University of Colorado at Boulder, the Denver Museum, and the Denver
Art Association as well as among numerous private collectors. It is
also at the San Diego Woman's Club.
Source:
Doris Dawdy, "Artists of the American West"
Peggy and Harold Samuels, "Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West"