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.Radford, Georgia & Warren Radford, Sculpture in the Sun: Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces, Honolulu, University Press of Hawaii, 1978, p. 97. 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.Wright, Walter(22 April 2002). "Charles Watson, sculptor and construction executive, dead at 86". Honolulu Advertiser, 22 April 2002. Retrieved 7 July 2017 His son Mark Watson is also a Hawaii-based sculptor.Hawaii Artreach, 2001, p. 13
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:Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum To the Nth Power, 1971, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii Pueo, 1980, Kaimuki High School, Honolulu, Hawaii Ka Mea Kui Upena, 1989, intersection of South King Street & Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii Giraffe (1959) and Ostrich (1960), Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaiian with O O, 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. Radford, Georgia & Warren Radford, Sculpture in the Sun: Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces, Honolulu, University Press of Hawaii, 1978, pp. 58, 97.
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