Charles L. (Charles Lewis) Wrenn

author

Charles L. (Charles Lewis) Wrenn

1880–1952

An American painter and illustrator, he moved between fine art circles and magazine work, creating landscapes, portraits, and vivid commercial art. His career took him from Cincinnati and New York to California, Arizona, and Mexico, giving his work a broad sense of place.

1 Audiobook

The Camp Fire Boys at Log Cabin Bend; Or, Four Chums Afoot in the Tall Timber

The Camp Fire Boys at Log Cabin Bend; Or, Four Chums Afoot in the Tall Timber

by St. George Rathborne, Charles L. (Charles Lewis) Wrenn

About the author

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880, Charles Lewis Wrenn built a varied career as both a painter and an illustrator. Reliable artist references describe him as active in New York City and Norwalk, Connecticut, and note that he studied at the Art Students League and with William Merritt Chase.

His work ranged from portrait and landscape painting to illustration. Sources connect him with scenes from the Catskills, California, and Walpi Mesa in Arizona, and later material also places him in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. He was associated with the Salmagundi Club, reflecting his place in the American art world of the early twentieth century.

Wrenn died in 1952. Today he is remembered as an artist whose career bridged studio painting and published illustration, with work shaped by travel and a wide-ranging eye for landscape and atmosphere.