“Paint what you feel, not what you see.”
Charles Partridge Adams moved to Colorado the year it became a state, in 1876, settling in Denver with his mother and sister. He taught painting at the Art Students League, which exposed him to the many working painters in Denver at the time. He also exhibited across the country. Encouraged by one of his students, Adams started making watercolors in 1893 to cater to a lower priced east coast audience who purchased them for birthdays, weddings and Christmas gifts. Dealers sought after his sunset images of reds, golds, and oranges as they sold quickly, allowing him to support his growing family of a wife and three sons. He is best known for his mountainous landscapes, usually combining influences of impressionism and tonalism.
He opened studios in both Denver and Estes Park and would paint The Rocky Mountain State for over 50 years, earning recognition for his dedication to depicting the landscapes of Colorado.
During the expansion of the railroads through Colorado, Adams had a rail pass that allowed him to travel in his own private rail car with a photographer friend throughout the state. “I saw the Rocky Mountains as I had dreamed of them before I came West. Towering above a great valley filled with afternoon mists, their summits glistening with the pure white of winter snows. They formed an entrancing sight that I can never forget.”