Charles L. Sallée Jr facts for kids

Charles L. Sallée Jr. (1913–2006) was an amazing African-American artist from Cleveland, Ohio. He made history as the first African-American to graduate from the Cleveland School of Art. Charles Sallée was a talented WPA artist who painted large murals. He also used his creative skills as an interior designer.

Charles Sallée's Early Life

Charles L. Sallée was born in Oberlin, Ohio. While many books say he was born in 1913, some sources list slightly different years. His father was a plasterer who worked with decorative designs. The family moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where his father became a builder.

Sallée went to Sandusky High School. There, he studied art, especially Renaissance art and the work of a famous French artist named Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. During high school, he drew portraits of his teachers. He also painted a big mural at the school. This mural showed Commodore Perry's famous Battle of Lake Erie. In an interview from 1995, Sallée shared that he also helped create stage sets for school plays.

Sallée was married to Constance Waples from 1960 to 1990. They had three children: a son named Warren and two daughters named Coco and Renee. Charles Sallée passed away in 2006.

Becoming an Artist and Teacher

Learning Art in Cleveland

In 1931, Sallée moved to Cleveland. He started taking art classes at Karamu House, a famous community arts center. A year later, he received the first Gilpin Scholarship. This scholarship was named after Charles Sidney Gilpin, an African-American Broadway actor.

Thanks to this scholarship, Sallée could attend the Cleveland School of Art, now known as the Cleveland Institute of Art. He focused on painting portraits with his teacher Rolf Stoll. He also studied design and painting with other great artists like Kenneth Bates, Victor Schreckengost, Carl Gaertner, and Paul Travis. Many of his teachers at the Cleveland School of Art also taught at Karamu House. Between 1932 and 1933, Sallée also learned how to make lithographs and etchings.

Sallée earned another award called the Gund Scholarship. He received it for his portrait called Bertha, which showed a dancer from Karamu House. This scholarship helped him study for a fifth year at the Cleveland School of Art. It's not totally clear when he graduated from the Cleveland School of Art and Adelbert College of Western Reserve University. However, people believe he finished his studies at both schools between 1933 and 1938. Charles Sallée was the first African-American student to graduate from the Cleveland School of Art. He earned a B.A. degree in education from Adelbert College.

Sallée's Career as an Artist

After finishing his studies, Sallée taught art at several junior high and high schools in Cleveland. Later, he became an instructor at Karamu House. At Karamu House, Sallée was guided by Richard Beatty, who led the studio department. He also learned from other well-known Cleveland artists like Elmer Brown and Hughie-Lee Smith.

Lee-Smith and Sallée joined a special printmaking project at Karamu House. This project was part of the WPA (Works Progress Administration). They worked with other artists like Zell Ingram and Fred Carlo. Sallée and other Karamu House artists were part of important art movements. They often painted realistic scenes of American life. They were inspired by both the American Regionalists and the social realism of the Mexican Muralists. Sallée painted WPA murals, but sadly, most of them no longer exist. One of his murals that was destroyed showed the hopes of African-American families moving to Cleveland.

Sallée was a very productive portrait artist. Some art experts thought he was better at drawing than painting. One of his famous portrait paintings is Girl with a Pink Geranium. This painting shows a young woman next to a flower, highlighting the beauty of both. Like his friends at Karamu House, Sallée often created understanding and positive pictures of African-Americans. His art showed the community enjoying their free time, which gave his work a happy feeling. Sallée also painted scenes from nightclubs. This might be because he was involved in Cleveland's nightlife and worked as an interior designer for clubs.

Sallée's artwork has been featured in several important books. These include The Negro in Art by Alain Locke, Modern Negro Art (1943) by James A. Porter, The Negro in Music and Art (1969) by Patterson, and A Resource Guide to the Visual Arts of Afro-Americans (1971) by Walker.

In the 1930s, Sallée showed his work at the May Show at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This exhibit displayed the best modern art in Cleveland. It was one of two big art competitions held in the city each year.

Military Service and Interior Design

During World War II, Charles Sallée was sent to England by the Army Corps of Engineers. He was a technical sergeant and worked as a mapmaker and camouflage designer. After the war, he was stationed in France during the Liberation. He finished his military service in the Philippines.

After the war, Sallée began receiving requests for interior design projects. He became a founding member of the American Institute of American Designers. One of his largest and most famous projects was redesigning a restaurant on 105th Street in Cleveland. He turned it into the Tijuana nightclub. He even designed a revolving stage for famous performers like Nat “King” Cole to use. Sallée also designed the Grand Ballroom and the Brasserie Restaurant at Stouffer's Inn on the Square, which is now the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.

Selected Exhibitions

Charles Sallée's art was shown in many places, including:

• 1937: Howard University
• 1937–39: May Show at Cleveland Museum of Art
• 1940: Negro Exposition of 1940
• 1940: Tanner Art Galleries of Chicago
• 1940: His first solo art show, supported by the North Canton Library in North Canton, Ohio
• 1941: Southside Art Center of Chicago
• 1942: Atlanta University
• January 7–22, 1942: Associated Artists Gallery in New York. This show was called Negro Art from Cleveland’s Karamu House. It was hosted by famous people like Dorothy Maynor and Eleanor Roosevelt. The show also traveled to Temple University in Philadelphia from February 2–16, 1942.

Selected Works and Collections

Here are some of Charles Sallée's artworks and where they are kept: