Chamberlin, Frank Tolles

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Chamberlin, Frank Tolles

Painter, muralist, sculptor. Born on March 10, 1873 in San Francisco, CA. Chamberlin moved to Vermont with his family when he was six, and at twelve began art training under Dwight Tryon in Hartford with further study at ASL in NYC under Brush and Bridgman. A mural competition in 1908 won him a four-year scholarship to the American Academy in Rome.

Upon returning to NYC, he taught at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and the School of Architecture at Columbia University. While teaching in New York he wed artist Katherine Beecher Stetson. In 1919 the couple moved to Pasadena where he taught in Los Angeles at both Chouinard and Otis Art Institutes (1921-30) as well as USC.

Equally facile with oil and watercolor, Chamberlin is best known for his murals and southern California landscapes; however, he also painted figures and still lifes. His sculptures include busts of children and architectural commissions while his paintings are low-keyed, classical in style, and reflect a well-grounded academic training.

As a teacher his contribution was extensive and the list of California artists who were his pupils is an impressive one. He won numerous awards and honors before his death in Pasadena on July 24, 1961.

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