Born in Oslo, Norway on Oct.
7, 1860 Christian Jorgensen moved to San Francisco with his mother in
1870. He showed artistic promise
at an early age, and when the School of Design opened in 1874, he was among the
first to enroll.
At 14 he was greatly influenced
at that school by Virgil Williams, who was both teacher and father figure. Jorgensen later became an instructor at
the School of Design and served as assistant director from 1881-83.
He then established a studio
at 131 Post Street where he continued teaching, and by the mid-1880s was a
successful landscape painter. For
five years he and his wife, Angela, traveled by horse and buggy to the sites of
the 21 California missions and during this period he produced 80 watercolor
studies of the missions and a complete set of oils.
In 1899, he pitched a tent
in Yosemite, and after several months, obtained a permit to build a studio-home
there and continued painting there during the warm months for 19 years. (His home in Yosemite is now used as
headquarters for the government rangers.)
In 1905 he built a boulder
home in Carmel (this later became the Hotel La Playa) where he and Angela lived
for a few years; most of his time was spent at the family home in Piedmont, CA.
The Jorgensens made trips to
Italy (1892-94), Mexico (1907), the Grand Canyon (1910) and New England (1916).
Jorgensen enjoyed a long
career and continued painting until his death in Piedmont on June 24, 1935.
Exhibitions:
San Francisco Art
Association, 1884-1905; Mechanics' Institute (SF), 1884-97; California State
Fair, 1886-96 (medals); Bohemian Club, 1899-1922; Cosmos Club (Washington, DC),
1906; Sequoia Club (SF), 1907; Del Monte Art Gallery (Monterey), 1907-09;
Rabjohn & Marcom Gallery (SF), 1908; Alaska-Yukon Expo (Seattle), 1909;
Courvoisier Gallery (SF), 1909; Kanst Gallery (LA), 1915.
(Courtesy of AskArt)
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