Charles Ward Traver was a painter born in Ann Arbor, MI on Oct. 10, 1870. After atttending the University of Michigan, Traver opted for an art career. He studied at the Detroit School of Art and Art Institute of Chicago. While a resident of Los Angeles in 1894, he was employed as an illustrator for Land of Sunshine magazine. He also taught small painting classes in Pasadena.

While there, a wealthy art patron offered to fund his study in Germany. He then spent three years in Munich at the Royal Academy under Carl von Marr. In 1898 he returned to the U.S. and settled in New York City. He soon was in demand to illustrate covers for national magazines. In 1927 he had a studio in New York City, visited Los Angeles again in 1932, and in 1933-34 was in Chicago. He died in New York City on August 3, 1945.