About Charles Nahl

  • Biography

    Born in Kassel, Germany, to a renowned family of artists, Charles Nahl is described as "California's first significant artist" . . . (Baigell 247). He became a painter of portraits, scenes of California pioneering that became the basis of the Crocker Museum collection, and of goldmining genre, especially humorous depictions involving alcohal and raucous interaction. He was also an illustrator and engraver.

    Charles Nahl and his half-brother, Hugo Nahl, attended the art academy of Kassel and then went to Paris in 1846 to study with Horace Vernet and Paul Delaroche. That year, he changed his name from Carl Christian to Charles Christian Nahl. He also exhibited at the Paris Salon.

    Fleeing turmoil of the 1848 Revolution in France, ...

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