Charles Drew Cahoon (1861-1951)

A popular and prolific painter on Cape Cod during the early 20th century, Charles Drew Cahoon became known for carefully detailed, peaceful landscapes and seascapes of Cape Cod views. He was born in Harwich, Massachusetts to a father who was a sea captain and amateur artist, and as a youngster, Charles copied sketches of his fathers. He also spent time at sea and did sketching from those experiences. In Boston, he studied photography, then a new art form, and he earned a living retouching photographs until he turned to painting full time in 1900. He also maintained a studio in Boston and was prosperous until the stock market crash of 1929. After that he continued painting but never recaptured his earlier success. His first paintings included buildings and portraits, including copies of Gilbert Stuart’s Martha and George Washington portraits. He died in Harwich in 1951. It is believed that he painted nearly three-thousand paintings, and many of them included fishing scenes and weather-beaten houses with soft light and mellow tone.