Charles Kassler

Charles Kassler Jr (September 9, 1897, Denver, Colorado–April 3, 1979, San Diego, California) was a painter, printmaker, and lithographer.

Early life

He lost a hand during a high school chemistry experiment. He studied art and architecture at Princeton University and the Chicago Art Institute.

Career

From 1925 to 1932 Kassler continued his studies while living at various times in New Mexico, Europe, and North Africa. While in France, he apprenticed himself to a well-known fresco painter. After moving to Los Angeles in 1933, he painted the two largest frescoes done under the WPA; The Bison Hunt for the Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles which was destroyed by weather damage and Pastoral California, at Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, in Orange County. It was whitewashed in 1938, just four years after Kassler completed it, but was restored in 1997 after spending almost 60 years hidden from view. Kassler also painted the Beverly Hills, California post office mural Post Rider Air Mail with a commission from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. After the WPA, Kassler taught at Chouinard Art Institute and later worked as a designer in the aerospace industry.