William Lemos - Artist Info

About William Lemos

  • Biography

    Born in New York on Aug. 8, 1861. As a boy Lemos earned money by wandering the streets and painting on request. Arriving in San Francisco in 1887, he established a studio at 106 Geary. With his wife Mabel, he worked in Los Angeles for a few years in the 1890s. After settling in Santa Cruz in 1896, he painted murals for many local businessmen. When the original Beach Casino was built there at the Boardwalk in 1904, Lemos was the first concessionaire and worked there for nearly 40 years. On his platform in the Casino, Lemos did paintings of redwoods, still lifes, forest fires, beach scenes, and marines. Many of his oils were done on redwood slabs which were popular with the tourists; in the early days these paintings sold for one dolla

    Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
    Art & Artists in Santa Cruz cat.; City Directory; Census; Death record; Santa Cruz Sentinel, 8-9-1942 and Los Angeles Evening Herald & Express, 8-10-1942 (obits).

    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....

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