Biography by Granddaughter, Laramée Lyda-Craft

Laramée Lyda 

November 13, 1997 

Art 101

California State University Bakersfield

C.A. WILIMOVSKY

Early 20th Century Artist

Charles Wilimovsky, 1942,
at the Art Institute of Chicago

BIOGRAPHY of CHARLES A. WILlMOVSKY, 1885 - 1974 

Charles Anthony Wilimovsky, who was called Bill by those who knew him, was born September 10, 1885, in Chicago, Illinois, of Bohemian (Czechoslovakian) ancestry.

Joseph Wilimovsky (1850-1896)

Charles' father, Joseph Wilimovsky, was born in Čáslav, a town in the eastern part of the Central Bohemian Region. Joseph was a well-educated man who could speak and write in six languages. Charles' mother, Anna Lesa Maresh, was born in Vysoké Mýto in the eastern part of Bohemia. Her family moved to America and brought her to Chicago in 1870 when she was 14.

Anna Lesa Maresh (1856-1942)

Joseph's family came to New York in 1875, and they soon settled in Chicago. His father was a shoemaker and Joseph operated a shoe shop. He married Anna on March 1, 1879, and became a successful businessman. Eventually, he owned many large buildings in Chicago, including a hotel and restaurant at Chicago's first World's Fair in 1893, the Columbian Exposition. When Joseph died at the young age of 46 (only a year after Charles was born), unscrupulous lawyers cheated his wife out of all of his property holdings.

Charles had four brothers -- Joseph (1882-1976), Otto (1889-1927), Edward (1892-1975) and Emil (1894-1939) -- and one sister, Julia (1886-1970). He also had a sister, Josephine, who died at age 4 in 1885 -- and a brother, Oldrich, who was born in 1887, but he died just one year later.

Joseph Charles Wilimovsky

Julia Antoinette Wilimovsky

Edward Jerome Wilimovsky

Emil Alois Wilimovsky

Some Information, Photos and Documents are from Warren Hartmann's Ancestry.com Family Tree (he is a grandson of Bill's sister, Julia), and I am grateful for his research.

As a very young man, Charles worked as a janitor in order to pay for classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. They recognized his talent and with the recommendation of William Merritt Chase, he was awarded a two-year Fellowship [1911 to 1913] to study art in Italy and France where he became a member of the Paris Art Colony.

Oil on Canvas: Italy

While In Europe, Wilimovsky fell in love with a beautiful young woman from Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada, named Marguerite Drusilla Thompson [1899-1919] who was there to study opera.

They were married [December 29, 1913] while Mr. Wilimovsky briefly served as director of the Milwaukee Fine Arts Institute, but they soon set up residence in Kansas City, Missouri, where Bill accepted a job as a prominent teacher at the Kansas City Fine Arts Institute [October 1914].

Bill married Marguerite on December 29, 1913, in Chicago

Kansas City Star -- October 11, 1914: "A young man of 27, who was director of the Milwaukee Fine Arts Institute last year, is teaching painting at the Kansas City Fine Arts Institute this fall." This article mentions his training and recent trip to Europe.

Kansas City Times -- April 20, 1916: Features a photo of his painting "Missouri Tree" which won the best prize in an exhibition of regional artists. "The painting was recently hung in the annual show of the Pennsylvania Academy at Philadelphia."

They were married for only a few years when Marguerite was stricken with influenza during the Great Pandemic that began in 1918. When she realized she was dying, Marguerite told her husband that she did not want their two little daughters [ Florence Dorothea, age 4 (1914-2001), and Marguerite Louise, age 2 (1917-1993) ] to grow up without a mother. She asked him to marry the young nurse who was taking care of her. When his beloved wife died [May 1919], Wilimovsky went into hysterical paralysis and could not walk for several weeks. The young nurse, Dorothea Agatha Brazzel (1899-1987), took care of him until he recovered. [See Sources below: Charmian M. Lyda, Jain C. Weidner and Carolyn G. Mather, 1997]

Marguerite Wilimovsky with

1st Daughter, Florence, 1916

Marguerite's Father and Mother (William E. Thompson 1859-1953,

Louisa Jane Hurdman 1861-1947) William lived until he was 94 years old;
See him at age 93 in 1951

The Kansas Citian -- September 21, 1920: Article describes a pivotal point in the development of the Institute with a new facility and a change in name to the Kansas City Art Institute. The article states that "Mr. Charles A. Wilimovsky continues as head of the drawing and painting department, where he has been for the past two years and of which he has made a great success."

Kansas City Star -- March 1922: Shows three block prints from the Virgin Islands and states "The popularity of Charles A. Wilimovsky's exhibition at The Kansas City Art Institute is exceeding either of the visiting exhibits. Since his pictures were hung Monday, seven have been sold, making a fine record for this Kansas City painter."

Bill's Popular Virgin Islands Woodcut Prints:
"The Fortress," "Harbor Master's Balcony," "Blackbeard's Castle"

"Palms After Storm," "On Frenchman Hill," "Prayer for the Drowned"

The artist (age 34) and the nurse (age 21) were married on May 21, 1920, at St. Patrick's Rectory in Kansas City, Missouri. The family soon moved to Illinois so Wilimovsky could accept a post at the Art Institute of Chicago. Money was tight and to try to make ends meet, he taught evenings at the Fine Arts Institute and traveled throughout the Midwest speaking at art seminars and conferences. [This was during the Great Depression when he was asked to paint a mural at the exclusive Stevens Hotel (now known as Hilton Chicago). He also earned money with his etchings, block prints, mezzotints and photography. -- C.M. Lyda]

Bill and his new wife, who's nickname was Dot (or Dora or Dotty), had two daughters of their own -- Jain [born Dec 6, 1922] and Charmian [born Aug 10, 1927]. Wilimovsky did not like to market his own work, but out of necessity Dot traded Bill's paintings for the family's dental care and sold some of his pieces to purchase the family automobiles. [C.M. Lyda, 1997] 

Wilimovsky's early work shows Impressionist influence but his style was not so easily classified, especially in his later work. He was strongly influenced by his early teacher, the brilliant painter William Merritt Chase, 1849-1916, who considered himself a Realist.

Chase studied at the National Academy of Design in Indiana until 1870, and then advanced to the Munich Royal Academy. While there, he veered from his academic style to painterly compositions with a bold, sweeping brush. Though the Royal Academy asked him to stay and teach in Germany, Chase chose to return to America to begin a long career as artist and teacher. He was determined to begin a "truly American school of art" and believed that art's aim is to "make the commonplace beautiful, with no allegory or idealization" [National Gallery of Art, 1987, William Merritt Chase at Shinnecock - Film].

William Merritt Chase Self-Portrait

In this exciting and relaxing exhibition of artwork by the unbelievably talented turn-of-the-century painter, William Merritt Chase, we can see how Wilimovsky reflected the gorgeous perspective of his brilliant teacher, incomparable American artist, benefactor, confidant, bon vivant, and trusty European traveling companion.

Here is a small sample of C.A. Wilimovsky's prodigious artistic output

Callejon Del Toro, Mexico City

New Mexico Village

Arbor Lodge, Nebraska City

Mr. Wilimovsky adopted Chase's philosophy and it is evident in the content of his work. Wilimovsky's subject matter was primarily landscapes and buildings. When human figures were included, they were never in detail and they seemed to be added to the composition in order to emphasize that the beauty of nature is here for us to appreciate, almost as an obligation as well as an opportunity.

Drypoint: Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, 1935
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Tree Lined Path

Horsemen, Taos

An example of one of Wilimovsky's earlier works is an oil painting of the Isle of Capri. It's a fair size painting about 24" wide by 22" high. As the viewer, you are placed along a hillside path, shaded by a canopy of grapevine. From this vantage point you see the distant city of Capri resting on a seaside cliff. You feel the serenity of a beautiful day, a large expanse of calm sea and a peaceful setting. This mood has been captured by the reflections of light and the cool colors often found in Impressionist work. However, there is a degree of atmospheric perspective that is not usually emphasized in Impressionism. Wilimovsky's use of perspective brings you right into his painting and makes you an active participant in the idyllic setting.

Around 1935, Wilimovsky began traveling to Mexico. It was about this time that his later style began to develop. The subject matter remained the same but his colors became darker and the compositions tighter. An example of this style is an oil painting of a building that could possibly be a Spanish mission. This painting is smaller, about 15" wide by 11" high. The brushwork is more painterly and the lightness and airiness of the previous work is replaced with a heavier, darker form. This piece represents a later time of day or possibly there is a storm developing in the darkness of the sky. He makes use of linear perspective but he has kept you outside the picture and has not pulled you into this setting as he did in "The Isle of Capri." The change in his style from lightness and intimacy to darkness and separation could be caused by the tragedy in his life impacting the way he sees the world around him. Though he still sees the beauty, it has been shadowed by life's trials.

Spanish Mission

Blue-eyed and handsome, Bill was always dressed in a dapper old-world style with a gold chain and pocket watch dangling from his vest and his camera and light gauges over his shoulder. He loved to take black and white photographs which he developed himself. His photographs contained a richness of texture and beauty of composition that were somewhat different in form to his paintings which emphasized color first, then shape and finally texture.

CAW around 1965

After about twenty years of marriage, Wilimovsky's hot temper and fits of jealousy led to divorce. He retired from the Chicago Art Institute and moved to Los Angeles where he eventually took up residence in a small studio behind his daughter Marguerite's house in Torrance. There he continued with his painting and photography until he contracted glaucoma right before his death on October 15, 1974. [C.M. Lyda, J.C. Weidner, 1997]

Wilimovsky won many awards and his work was exhibited throughout the Midwest. He was known for his etchings and woodblocks as well as his paintings. Some of his pieces are at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, the Louvre in Paris, the Museum of Modem Art in San Francisco, and numerous Art Galleries in Laguna Beach, California.

Though only a few art aficionados are acquainted with his work, his family was left with many beautiful pieces of art. As a relative, I consider myself lucky to have inherited some of his work; Charles A. Wilimovsky was my grandfather, my Grampa Bill.

Torrance, California, 1963
Frances Brazzel (Dorothea's mother), Charles Wilimovsky, Dorothea Scheneman, and Marguerite with daughter Linda Williams holding a newer daughter

LIST of SOURCES

The primary sources for this biography of Charles A. Wilimovsky are his two younger daughters, Charmian Marie Wilimovsky Lyda [C.M. Lyda] and Jain Carme Wilimovsky Weidner [J.C. Weidner]. Their memories of exact dates and places were sometimes hazy so I have used outside sources to pin down some of the details. These sources include Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia and Carolyn Godbee Mather, a dealer in arts and antiques in Coarsegold, California.

Mather has found biographical information on Wilimovsky in most art reference books that cover the time period when he was most active - approximately 1910 through 1955. These include Fielding, Mallett and Dowdy, as well as Who's Who in American Art. The library at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) has these reference books (except for Dowdy), however they go back no further than 1970. 

While researching this paper, I viewed a film at the CSUB library entitled William Merritt Chase at Shinnecock. This film was part of a series on landscape artists produced by the National Gallery of Art, Department of Extension Programs in association with Cinemotion, Inc. 1987. According to Mather and Weidner, Wilimovsky was a student of Chase's and was heavily influenced by his art philosophy.

On the Internet, I found Charles Wilimovsky's name listed in the archives of the Chicago Art Institute.

Marguerite Thompson's story, related by her uncle, Dr. George John Ainley Thompson, in 1937

[Marguerite] was two years younger than [sister] Marie. The two girls were in a boarding school together in Toronto from 1902 to 1905, when they returned to Dawson. In 1907 Marguerite went back to Toronto to take a special course at the Conservatory of Music in piano and singing. Two years later she went to Florence, Italy, for special direction and instruction in voice culture. She was in Florence about three years and here she met Charles A. Wilimovsky, who was taking an art course on a scholarship which he had earned at the Chicago Institute of Art. She returned to New York in 1912 and Dec. 29, 1913, they were married in Chicago and made their home in Kansas City, where her husband held a teaching position in the Art Institute. They had two children both of whom were born in Kansas City, Florence Dorothea in 1914, and Mar­guerite Louise in 1916. In May, 1919, the mother was taken down with "Flu;" double pneumonia set in, from which she failed to recover. (From Ancestry.com)

See the More of Wilimovsky's Story: 1900 thru 1919