F. Tolles Chamberlin, "Near Pasadena"

F. TOLLES CHAMBERLIN
1873-1961

Near Pasadena
Drypoint, 1947

Tolles Chamberlin was born in San Francisco but spent much of his youth in Vermont and Connecticut. His first art lessons were with Dwight Tryon at the Wadsworth Atheneum. In New Rochelle he became proficient at watercolor renderings for a landscape architect. He continued this work in New York City and attended night classes at the Art Students League. He won a four year scholarship to study in Rome. On his return to New York he taught for several years at the Beaux Arts School of Design.

In 1919 Tolles and his family moved to Pasadena. He taught at the Otis Art Institute and later co-founded the Chouinard Art Institute. He also taught watercolor rendering at the USC School of Architecture. He worked in pastels, oil, watercolor, sculpture, drawing and etching. He may be best known, however, as an extremely gifted and influential teacher. (One of his pupils is Mildred Brooks, also in this show). Tolles died in Los Angeles in 1961.

--Kathleen Durham and Lois Smalley