Charles Arthur Cox was a businessman, an artist and art teacher. He was born at Liverpool, England but later, in 1889, migrated to Waco, Texas as a cotton trader. Apart from cotton buying, he continued to develop his artistic talent. Many people noticed gift and persuaded him to teach a class in watercolor painting, a proposal that he eagerly accepted. The young ladies of the city were really impressed with his work, and he continued for a decade while at the same time doing his artwork. His paintings were usually small and signed C. A. Cox. Cox was inspired by the charm and the beauty of the wildflowers and hillsides of the Bosque Valley, and he decided to make these the main subjects of most of his paintings in Texas.

Cox was instrumental in organizing the Waco Art League in 1901 – the league is still in existence to date. In that same year (1901), Cox became seriously ill, and at the recommendation of his doctor he undertook a trip to the Colorado Mountains; but his condition worsened and he died there on August 7, 1901 at Boulder. Cox’s body was returned to Waco, Texas and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.