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Charles F Keck

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Charles F. Keck (1913 - 2003) was active/lived in California, Iowa.  Charles Keck is known for Genre, street scenes and landscape painting.

Biography photo for Charles F. Keck
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 Born in Wapello, IA on Feb. 18, 1913. Keck settled in Los Angeles in 1920. At the local City College, he won a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute. He was employed as a background artist at Columbia Pictures before being drafted into the Army in 1942. After his discharge, he earned a master's degree from UCLA. He taught art at Hollywood Art Center until 1954 and then taught at Lincoln and Garfield High Schools until 1982. Keck died in Los Angeles in 2003. His scene paintings exemplify the California Style and show the influence of his teachers Millard Sheets and Phil Dike. Exh: Calif. WC Society, 1940-51; Laguna Beach AA, 1941-48.

Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Los Angeles Times, 5-28-1944, P.3.

Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here.   ...  [Displaying 1027 of 5123 characters.]  Artist bio

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Similar artists

.  There are 4 similar (related) artists for Charles F Keck available:    Mabel Alvarez,  Ben Abril,  Paul Grimm,  Jean Mannheim



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Facts about Charles F Keck

   Charles F. Keck  Born:  1913 - Wapello, Iowa
Died:   2003 - Los Angeles, California
Known for:  Genre, street scenes and landscape painting

Biography from the Archives of askART

Born in Wapello, IA on Feb. 18, 1913. Keck settled in Los Angeles in 1920. At the local City College, he won a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute. He was employed as a background artist at Columbia Pictures before being drafted into the Army in 1942. After his discharge, he earned a master's degree from UCLA. He taught art at Hollywood Art Center until 1954 and then taught at Lincoln and Garfield High Schools until 1982. Keck died in Los Angeles in 2003. His scene paintings exemplify the California Style and show the influence of his teachers Millard Sheets and Phil Dike. Exh: Calif. WC Society, 1940-51; Laguna Beach AA, 1941-48.

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Los Angeles Times, 5-28-1944, P.3.

Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here.


Biography from Kelley Gallery - Pasadena

The paintings of Charles Keck are intended to capture the intriguing ambience of Los Angeles during one of the most fascinating periods in the city's history.  Charles Keck was born in 1913 in Iowa, and moved to Los Angeles in 1920.  He graduated from Fairfax High in 1932, then majored in art at Los Angeles City College 1933-34.  He was awarded a three-year scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute where he studied with Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, and Phil Paradise from 1935-38. 

From the late 1930s through the early 1940s he worked at Columbia Pictures as a background artist.  Beginning in 1945 Keck taught at Hollywood Art Center School for several years before enrolling at UCLA, graduating in 1954 with a Master's Degree in Art Instruction.  He taught art at Los Angeles area schools for the next few decades.

From the late 1930s through the mid-1950s Charles Keck produced works in various media, primarily favoring watercolor and gouache.  During this period he exhibited with the California Watercolor Society, and the Laguna Beach Art Association, from whom he received a First Prize in 1946.  Documenting the historic California scene in both landscape and genre compositions, Charles Keck painted from life, on location throughout the streets, harbors, rural farmlands, and beaches of Los Angeles and greater Southern California.  Keck chose to focus on the local colors and activities of a rapidly growing metropolis, capturing scenes that are as varied as the city itself.  Keck favored no one image, subject, or point of view, but instead kept his eye moving across a constantly changing landscape, recording all its wonders, contradictions, and history.

Special Awards:

1935/Three-year scholarship, Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles;

1940/Los Angeles Museum, Honorable Mention;

1941/Redlands Art Club Exhibition, Redlands, California, Honorable Mention;

1943/Unidentified Exhibition, Anchorage, Alaska, First and Third Prizes/watercolor;

1943/Laguna Beach Art Association, California, Honorable Mention/watercolor;

1946/Laguna Beach Art Association, California, First Prize/watercolor;

1947/Laguna Beach Art Association, California, Second Prize/watercolor;

1950/Laguna Beach Art Association, California, First Honorable Mention/watercolor.

Collections: Carville Marine Hospital, Louisiana

Geography/Places Visited: California/1920-1960s; Louisiana/1939, 1947, 1950s; Caribbean Islands/1939

 


Biography from California Watercolor

Charles Keck (1913-2003) Charles Keck was born in Iowa in 1913.  He moved to Los Angeles in 1920, where he graduated from Fairfax High.  From 1932 to 1934, he majored in art at Los Angeles City College, and was awarded a three year scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute* where he studied with Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, and Phil Paradise from 1935-38.  In the late '30s through the early '40s he worked for Columbia Pictures as a background artist until being drafted to serve in WWII. While serving in the Signal Corps, he was stationed in Alaska where he produced a series of watercolors depicting Alaskan landscapes, genre scenes, and military life.

He returned to Los Angeles in 1945, teaching at Hollywood Art Center School for several years before enrolling at UCLA to complete his Master's Degree in Art Instruction. After graduating from UCLA, he taught art at Lincoln and Garfield High Schools in Los Angeles, retiring in 1982.

From the 1930s through the 1980s he produced works in various media, primarily favoring hand-ground pigments in watercolor and gouache.  During this period he exhibited with numerous organizations including the California Watercolor Society*, and the Laguna Beach Art Association from whom he received a First Prize in 1946.

Documenting the historic California scene in both landscape and genre compositions, he painted from life on location throughout the streets, harbors, rural farmlands, and beaches of Los Angeles, Orange County, and Ventura.

Biographical information:
Courtesy estate of the artist-2003

CaliforniaWatercolor.com



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