Charles Christian Nahl

Carl Christian Heinrich Nahl, later known as Charles Nahl, was a German-born painter who lived in the United States for the last half of his life. He lived most of those 30 years in California and is considered the state's first significant artist.
Leaving political unrest in Hesse and France, Nahl immigrated to New York City in 1848 with family and friends. He moved to California the following year, at first hoping for luck in the gold rush. He and his family settled in what became part of the United States, living in Sacramento until 1852 and then in San Francisco.