Charles W. Watson
American sculptor
Charles Wyndham Watson (August 30, 1915 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada – April 20, 2002 in Kaneohe, Hawaii), was an American sculptor. After working as an apprentice carpenter during the Great Depression, Watson studied engineering briefly at Santa Monica College. He came to Hawaii after World War II as a manager for McNeil Construction. In 1950, he moved to Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company as a general superintendent and worked his way up to become president. His son Mark Watson is also a Hawaii-based sculptor.
His body of work included both figurative subjects and large abstract works, such as Tree in Foster Botanical Garden. His sculptures in public places include:
To the Nth Power, 1971, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii
Pueo, 1980, Kaimuki High School, Honolulu, Hawaii
Ka Mea Kuʻi ʻUpena, 1989, intersection of South King Street & Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii
Giraffe (1959) and Ostrich (1960), Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaiian with ʻO ʻO, 1978, Hawaiian Dredging & Construction Company, 614 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii
Mahiole (Feathered helmet), 1983, pair of stone sculptures, The Halekulani Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii
Tree, 1974, Foster Botanical Garden, Honolulu, Hawaii
References
Charles W. Watson in the Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Hawaii Artreach, “Art in Public Places”, Vol. 15, Nos. 3 & 4, Winter 2001, p. 13.
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