Biography of Charles Mills

Charles N. Mills studied art at The Art Career School of Commercial Illustration in New York and also at the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Art. His works have been exhibited at various galleries throughout the New York area. The Tru-can Art Gallery in downtown Brooklyn was the location of several extremely profitable exhibitions of his work. In 1969, one of his pieces won an “Honorable Mention” award at the Atlanta University exhibit of Black Artists. He also exhibited work at Croton Council on the Arts in Croton-on-the-Hudson, New York. He worked for many years in the field of Medical Illustration and has designed and illustrated medical books and texts.

He taught Pen & Ink Techniques and Pastel Painting at the Brooklyn College Institute of Retired Professional and Executive (IRPE) from 1982 to 1985. He also held the office of President of the Artist League of Brooklyn for one year. He completed an 8’ x 9’ mural for the David Chavis Senior Citizens Houses in April of 1984. This mural depicts great Black Americans who have contributed to their race and country.

Relocating to South Florida in 1985, he was called to an adjunct professorship position at the New World School of the Arts in Miami by Ed Love, then Dean of the Art Department. He then went on to teach at the Broward Art Guild and the Coral Springs Museum of Art. Mills has widely exhibited in and out of Florida in one man and group exhibits, starting with his first successful one-man show at Gallery Antigua in 1986. In 1991, Mills was commissioned by the city of Ft. Lauderdale to design a mural depicting the history of the African American community of the City from the time of slave trade to the present day at the east entryway of Sistrunk Boulevard.

Mills completed a Fellowship study at the Brandywine print workshop in Philadelphia, PA in 2001, creating a limited edition print “Melon Slices.” He continues to work and teach prolifically into his eighties.