1937-2004
Works in the Collection
Biography
Charles Searles was born in Philadelphia in 1937. He moved to New York in 1978. Searles received his undergraduate education at the Parsons School of Design, graduating with honors. He also studied at the Philadelphia College of Art. Searles received his first public commission for the interior mural, “Celebration”, at the William H. Green Federal Building in Philadelphia. Seven more public commissions followed, the most recent being in 2004 by the Delaware River Port Authority for five painted metal sculptures. He has received numerous awards and grants including the Pollack-Krasner Foundation Award, Creative Arts Project (CAPS), and National Endowment for the Arts among many others. A world traveler, he has exhibited in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Searles served on many public art panels, taught art workshops, and was a professor at Pratt University. His former teaching experiences include Jersey City State College, Bloomfield College, and the University of The Arts in Philadelphia, where he taught for nineteen years. The artist died in 2004.