| Charles George Copeland | |
| Birth Name: | Charles George Copeland |
| Birth Date: | September 10, 1858 |
| Birth Place: | Thomaston, Maine, U.S. |
| Death Date: | March 1945 |
| Death Place: | Thomaston, Maine |
| Resting Place: | Thomaston, Maine |
Charles George Copeland (1858–1945) was an American book illustrator active from about 1887 until about 1940. He was a member of the Boston Watercolor Society, and the Boston Art Club. His illustrations were used in a variety of books.
Sea captain Oliver Copeland (b. 1790) married Lois Wyllie in 1818 in Warren, ME; their son, George, married Mary F. Munroe in 1853 and they resided in Thomaston, ME, where their son Charles was born on September 10, 1858. At a young age, Charles worked for a local painter, producing frescoed walls and ceilings in Thomaston.[1] In 1886 Charles married Eda Mills, daughter of Thomaston sea captain Harvey Mills. [2]
In 1888, Charles and Eda lived at 21 Pemberton Square in Boston, MA, while having a house built in Newton, MA. In Newton, he established himself as a full-time artist. His illustrations appear in Youth's Companion, a popular young people's magazine of the time. In addition, Copeland illustrated many books.
Charles and Eda had three children: Margaret Olive Copeland (1889 - 1958), who was a nurse; Helen Mills Copeland Creighton (1898 - ?); and Charlotte Harvey Copeland Gray (1898 – 1983).
The Copeland family spent summer seasons in Thomaston, ME, in Eda's childhood home: a large, Italianate house on 123 Main Street, built by Thomaston architect and builder James Overlock.While in Thomaston, Charles painted watercolors of local scenes. Charles built a studio on the grounds of the home. Admired by the community, Charles was considered a “popular, very tall, well-built man with a closely trimmed beard."[2]