Cahill, Arthur James (1878-1970)

Josefa and Chano by Arthur James Cahill (1878-1970) 17.7" x 12.5", Watercolor/Paper, Signed Est.: $1,800 - $2,250 Sold by John Moran Auctioneers for $3,575 on 6/19/2001 ARTIST WORLD RECORD

Born in San Francisco, California, Arthur Cahill became noted for his portraiture. He was also an illustrator and caricaturist who lived in California much of his life but spent a few years in San Antonio, Texas in the 1930s.

Cahill attended public school in Eureka and the Jesuit Brothers School of San Jose. He studied art at the Mark Hopkins Institute and in Paris, and from 1892 to 1906, worked as an illustrator for San Francisco newspapers. After the earthquake and fire, he worked for the New York World newspaper, and then, in 1910, returned to California to become editor of Sunset magazine and to do illustrations for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

In 1915, he took up portraiture full time, and his subjects include President Hoover and General John J Pershing.

He died on April 10, 1970 at the home of his son in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Sources:
Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940
Peggy and Harold Samuels, The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West