Charles Frederick Surendorf (1906-1979) was born on November 9, 1906 in Richmond, Indiana. Following graduation from Ohio State University, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League in New York City. In 1935 he moved to the San Francisco Bay area and further studied at Mills College. Active in the local art scene, he was director of the first San Francisco Art Festival.

In 1946 he settled in the town of Columbia in the Sierra foothills. There he served as director of the short-lived Mother Lode Art School (1956) and produced works with an historic California theme. He died of cancer in Columbia on May 28, 1979. His paintings and prints depict the rough-and-tumble life of the old mining country in a regionalist style similar to that of Thomas Hart Benton.

Member: California Society of Etchers; San Francisco Art Ass'n; Mother Lode Art Ass'n; Bay Region Art Ass'n (Oakland). Exhibited: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1936; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1936-46; California Society of Etchers, 1938-54 (awards); Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939; De Young Museum, 1946; Art Institue of Chicago; National Academy of Design. Works held: Monterey Peninsula Museum; San Francisco Museum of Art; Mills College (Oakland); Library of Congress; Wichita Art Museum.