19th Century San Francisco Bay Painting By Charles Henry Harmon For Sale

Estate find.  This oil on board painting of the San Francisco bay was pre- San Francisco bay bridge.  Circa late 1800\'s early 1900\'s.  By  Ohio/California  artist Charles Henry Harmon.  Scene of the bay features three sailing ships.  Painting is in good condition with some age appropriate ware with small scuffs and scratches.  Pictures are part of the description.   Frame should be replaced.  Oil on board measures 18 1/2\" x 12 1/2\".  Wooden gold gilded frame measures 25\" x 18 1/2\".  ( can ship without frame if requested and shipping will be adjusted).

Signed on the lower left corner.

More about the artist.

Charles Henry Harmon was born on December 23, 1859 in Mansfield, Ohio. He moved to San Jose, California with his family in 1874 and at an early age was apprenticed to local portrait painter Louis Lussier. He later spent one year working in a local photography studio re-touching negatives. His youth was spent visiting the art galleries of San Francisco and, with no formal training, he began sketching and painting in 1883 in the beautiful Santa Clara Valley. He painted many landscapes of that area and made trips to the remotest parts of the Sierra and the Monterey Peninsula where he painted many coastal scenes. He began exhibiting in San Jose in the 1880s.

By the turn of the century, his works were handled exclusively by Gump\'s and he was recognized as one of California\'s foremost painters. In 1905 he established a studio in Denver and for seven years concentrated on the rugged landscape of the Rocky Mountains. While there, the Santa Fe, Western Pacific, and Colorado, Midland railroads commissioned him to paint scenes along their routes. After his time in Colorado, he returned to San Jose where he remained for the rest of his life. Harmon died there on October 14, 1936 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.