Charles C. Dawson

Charles C. Dawson (June 12, 1889 – 1981) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and graphic designer.

Life and education Dawson was born in Georgia in 1889. then moved to New York City to attend the Art Students League, where he was the first black student. Dawson left to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, There, he is said to have come into contact with members the club including Frank Lloyd Wright, James Henry Breasted, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Oliver Dennett Grover. In this autobiographical work, Dawson discusses his experiences as a student at the Tuskegee Institute, the Art Students League of New York, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as his artistic career and pursuits. Charles C. Dawson designed the cover of the 1927 catalog for the Negro in Art Week Exhibition. As listed in the show's catalog, the three paintings were The Quadroon Madonna, Brother and Sister, and Searchlights. These commercial designs include a design for a poster and a design for an insurance policy heading. That exhibition, which included work by a range of African American artists including Hale Woodruff, Jacob Lawrence, Lois Mailou Jones, Elizabeth Catlett, Richmond Barthe, and Charles White, was on view from July 4 to September 2, 1940. In 1940, he was on the Western Jury of the Jury of Selections, identified as a painter from Chicago, for the Exhibition of the Art of the American Negro at the Tanner Art Galleries in Chicago, Illinois. The book consists of 26 linoleum prints portraying major figures in black history. He began working for black entrepreneurs when he returned to Chicago after serving in World War I. DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, Illinois