Harmon, Charles Henry (1859-1936).

Yosemite Valley by Charles Henry Harmon (1859-1936) 48" x 72", Oil/Canvas, Signed Lower Left Est.: $20,000 - $30,000 Sold by John Moran Auctioneers for $16,950 on 2/28/2006 ARTIST WORLD RECORD

Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Charles Henry Harmon moved to San Jose, California as a youngster in 1874. At a young age, he was apprenticed to Louis Lussier, a local portrait painter. He also worked in a photography studio retouching negatives. He had no formal art training but loved to visit galleries in San Francisco and began painting in the Santa Clara Valley. He also went to many other remote areas along the Monterey Coast and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

By the turn of the century, Gumps department store of San Francisco handled his work exclusively, and his reputation was well established. In 1905, he settled a studio in Denver, and began commissions for the Santa Fe Railroad, Western Pacific and Colorado Midlands to paint scenes along their route. He spent his later years in San Jose, California where he died.

Exhibition venues include Mark Hopkins Institute, 1897-98; Gump's (San Francisco), 1899; California State Fair, 1902; Berkeley League of Fine Art; California Artists, Golden Gate Park Museum, 1915; Stanford Art Gallery, 1923; Rosicrucian Art Gallery, 1949; and Triton Museum, 1971 (retrospectives).

Collections:
San Jose Civic Auditorium; Clarke Museum (Eureka); CSL; Denver Public Library; Santa Fe Railway.

Source:
Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940