Courtesy private collection.
| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
It is likely that he traveled to South Africa around 1902. Some watercolours in the Rawson family collection have South African themes such as a painting titled "Block House, Pretoria, S.A.". It is signed C.H. Rawson 1943, but a note in the painting states "Old fort, Pretoria S.A. 27-9-02" and is probably based on a sketch that he did on September 27, 1902.
He married Florence May Ellis in Vancouver on March 25, 1905, she was born in Wales. His profession was noted as artist.
Rawson was an early exhibitor in Vancouver, and advertised in the Henderson's Directory as an artist as early as 1907. A portrait of him titled Corp. Ch. H. Rawson was painted by Norman Hawkins and exhibited in the 1917 Eleventh Exhibition of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts, along with his own painting of Lynn Valley. He also exhibited with the group in November 1912.
His ranks were Lance Corporal and Private. He went overseas in February 1915 with the 3rd Field Company, Divisional Engineers. He received a "G.S.W." (gun shot wound) to the stomach at Festubert on May 18, while "going to put up barbed wire entanglements was hit by piece of shell in right side of abdomen, causing wound 5 cm deep (X-ray photograph). There was pain and vomiting (probably from shock) for six days."
He was evacuated by the No. 5 London Field Ambulance to Casualty Clearing Station, Chocarres (Chocques). He was transferred to the Australian Hospital at Wimereux on May 25, then to Alder Hay West Derby Hospital, Liverpool, admitted on May 27 1915. He was discharged from the hospital on September 19, but on November 11 was admitted to the Military Convalescence Hospital, Epsom, with a case of gastritis. After that, he was deemed "no longer physically fit for war service" and was sent home. He left for Canada on December 31 1915, arrived at a discharge depot in Quebec in early January 1916, and by January 19 he was in Esquimault. He was left with some shrapnel in his body that was reviewed by a military medical board in 1916. For his "minor" inability to work he was granted a pension of $75 for 6 months.
Another document, titled Medical History of an Invalid, dated October 31 1917, notes under item 11 Present Condition: "The man is anaemic (markedly), very much debilitated, obviously greatly underweight, answers questions sluggishly. Shews a toxic condition." The review board recommended that he be placed in class D3, given an x-ray examination, treatment, and reattested for pay and allowance.
He exhibited his work in the B.C. Artists annual exhibitions, from the inaugural 1932 exhibition to 1943.
He died in Vancouver in 1948 at the age of 77, according to B.C. Vital Statistics on-line. At the time of his death he had lived in B.C. for 48 years. He retired in 1935 after working as "artist + draughtsman 26 yrs, Customs 19 years." He was married to (Florence) May Ellis at the time of his death, the couple was living at 7895 French Street.
| Reg. No. 2979 ex-Cst. Charles Henry Rawson, 77, died at Vancouver, B.C., April 10, 1948. He served in the N.W.M.P. from Nov. 29, 1893, to Dec. 12, 1895, and from May 1, 1899, to Oct. 11, 1901, having been stationed during those periods at Regina (Sask.) and Lethbridge (Alta.) in the Northwest Territories and Dawson, Y.T. He served with the Royal Canadian Engineers in the First World War. |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly: "Obituaries" (Vol. 13 No. 4 April 1948) Canadiana, https://www.canadiana.ca/view/sru.00004_194804/94 |
1907 Artists: Rawson, Charles H.
1908 Artists: Rawson, Charles H. (4, 165 W Cordova St.)
1909 Rawson, Charles H. clk J A Coldwell lvs cor James & Westminster rd
(note: Coldwell, Joseph A real est broker 100 Hastings W h 2360 Powell)
1910 Artists: Rawson, Charles H. (165 W. Cordova St.)
1910 Rawson, Charles H. comm artist 145 Cordova W h cor James & Westminster Road
1911 Artists Commercial: Rawson, Charles H.
1911 Rawson, Charles H., Commercial Artist Publisher of Pocket Maps Rm. 8, 619 Hastings W.
phone 6435 Res. James Cor. Westminster Road
1912 Artists: Rawson, Chas. H. (14, 619 W. Hastings St.)
1912 Rawson, Charles H., Commercial Artist Publisher of Pocket Maps Rm. 14, 619 Hastings W.
phone Seymour 8119 Res. James Cor. Westminster Road
1913 Artists: Rawson, Chas. H. (14, 619 W. Hastings St.)
1913 Rawson, Chas H commercial artist 14, 619 Hastings W h 1075 Westminster Rd
1914 Artists: Rawson, Chas. H. (14, 619 W. Hastings St.)
1914 Rawson, Chas H map pub 14, 619 Hasting W h 1075 Kingsway
1915 Rawson, Chas H coml artist h 1075 Kingsway
1916 Rawson, Chas H coml artist h 1075 Kingsway
1917 Rawson, Chas H customs officer h 1075 Kingsway
1918-1923 Rawson, Chas H clk customs h 1075 Kingsway
1924 Rawson, Chas H clk Customs Post Parcels h 1075 Kingsway
1925 Rawson, Chas H clk Customs h 1075 Kway
1926 Rawson, Chas H clk Customs h 1107 E 19
1927 Rawson, Chas H clk Customs h 1107 E 19
...
1934 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) clk Customs h 1107 E 19
1935 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) h 1107 E 19
1936 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 1107 E 19
---
1942 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 1107 E 19
1943 (no Vancouver listing)
1944 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 7895 French
1945 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 7895 French
1946 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 7895 French
1947 Rawson, Chas H (Florence M) retired h 7895 French
1948 Rawson, Florence M. wid C H h 7895 French
Note: the images on this page were provided courtesy of a private collection. A
large number of artworks had been scanned and indexed, the ones on this page are
simply chosen by the Editor as being ones of interest. Titles and content of other
images in the collection included works done in Pretoria, South Africa. Some paintings were
dated from the 1890s. A painting of Prospect Point is dated 1924. Other paintings
are of Hornby Island, Crescent Beach, Armstrong, Hope, Stanley Park,
Ashcroft, Vernon, Kootenay Lake, Penticton, New Westminster, Kamloops, Yale,
Banff AB, and Regina SK. There are also a number of floral still lifes.
| DATE | EXHIBITION | LOCATION |
| 2025 March 22 | Collection of historic watercolours (22) | 4th Meridian Art & Auctions, Penticton |
| 2025 May 2 - 4 | Collection of historic watercolours (8) | Art in the City, WECC, Vancouver |
| DATE | EXHIBITION | ARTWORK |
| 1912 Nov. 25 - 30 | BCSFA Annual Exhibition | November |
| October | ||
| 1917 Sept. 14 - 22 | BCSFA Eleventh Exhibition | Lynn Valley |
| 1923 June | Sketch Club Semi-Annual Exhibition | Golden Autumn |
| Winter | ||
| 1924 February 2 | Sketch Club Monthly Exhibition | A Winter Sunrise |
| 1924 October | Sketch Club October Exhibition | Lynn Creek |
| 1930 Aug. 6 - 16 | VanExh Oil Paintings & Water-colours | Vancouver Waterfront |
| 1932 Aug. 29 - Sept. 5 | VanExh Vancouver Sketch Club Exhibit | City Gate, Pekin |
| Lynn Creek | ||
| Summer Holidays, Burnaby Lake | ||
| 1932 Oct. 5 - 30 | VAG B.C. Artists 1st Annual | Evening, Holy Cross Mountain |
| King George V | ||
| Road to Summerland | ||
| 1933 Sept. 22 - Oct. 15 | VAG B.C. Artists 2nd Annual | Cree Camp |
| Colour Wood Cut | ||
| City Gate, Pekin | ||
| 1933 Dec. 1 - 17 | VAG B.C. Artists Christmas Exhibition | Lost Lagoon |
| 1934 Sept. 21 - Oct. 14 | VAG B.C. Artists 3rd Annual | Lynn Creek Canyon |
| Spanish Banks, Low Tide | ||
| Cat Boats - Beached | ||
| Echo Lake, B.C. | ||
| 1934 Dec. 4 - 16 | VAG B.C. Artists Christmas Exhibition | Spanish Banks, Low Tide |
| Cat Boats, Beached | ||
| 1935 Sept. 20 - Oct. 15 | VAG B.C. Artists 4th Annual | Havana Harbour, Cuba |
| The Prairie, Regina | ||
| 1937 Sept. 17 - Oct. 10 | VAG B.C. Artists 6th Annual | The Lions (Wood Engraving) |
| Brockton Point (Wood Engraving) | ||
| 1938 Sept. 16 - Oct. 9 | VAG B.C. Artists 7th Annual | Brockton Point |
| Wood Engravings | ||
| 1940 Sept. 20 - Oct. 13 | VAG B.C. Artists 9th Annual | Mount Rundle, Banff, Alta. |
| 1941 Sept. 26 - Oct. 19 | VAG B.C. Artists 10th Annual | Lulu Island |
| 1942 Nov. 3 - 15 | FCA Red Cross Benefit | (no information available) |
| 1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20 | VAG B.C. Artists 12th Annual | The Lions |
| Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park |
CITY & PROVINCIAL DIRECTORIES 1907 to 1948 (refer to DIR)
B.C. VITAL STATISTICS ON-LINE marriage, death (refer to BCVS)
"Those exhibiting included ... Mr. C.H. Rawson ... "
From "Sketch Club Semi-Annual Art Exhibition"
B.C. Ladies' Mirror, December 15 1923
"Mr. Rawson has caught the silver coolness of morning in his water-color
"A Winter Sunrise." The coral and primrose sky seems filled with dancing motes of crystal."
From "Impressions of the Sketch Club" by
Alice M. Winlow
British Columbia Monthly, March 1924
" ... Among those contibuting paintings and drawings are: ... C.H. Rawson ... "
From "Noted Artists Offer Paintings For Red Cross"
Vancouver Province (presumed), November 1942
"As requested, I have visited the Galloway-Dorbils exhibition of rejected
work at 942 Granville Street. I noted the names of the following 14 would-be
exhibitors in our show: ... C.H. Rawson ..."
From "Re: Galloway-Dorbils Exhibit" by
A.S. Grigsby.