Charles Bragg

Charles Bragg was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Vaudeville performers and traveled with them throughout his childhood. He studied at New York’s High School of Music and Art in Harlem and later at the Art Students League before eventually settling in Los Angeles. Before committing to painting full-time, Bragg worked as a cab driver, truck driver, stand-up comedian, and factory worker. In California, he painted for wealthy clients and gave art lessons, an experience that sparked his satirical view of the upper class.
The turning point in Bragg’s career came in the early 1960s when he exhibited work featuring biting caricatures reminiscent of Daumier. His paintings depicted characters who had lost their souls while acting out depravities through tragicomic burlesques of morality and ethics, poking fun at the military, clergy, and various professions. His shows sold out. During the 1970s, Bragg shifted from occupational satire to exploring universal human weaknesses and temptations while continuing his humorous critique through paintings, drawings, etchings, and lithographs.
Represented by Park West Gallery, Bragg’s work is held in at least twenty international museums, including the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. He won numerous awards, including the Gold Medal from the National Society of Illustrators and the Award of Merit from the Art Directors Guild of New York. PBS created a documentary about him titled “Charles Bragg — One of a Kind.”