Internationally renowned master painter, Charles Robert Becker, also fondly known as Chuckie B. and Charlie, passed away on Jan. 21 surrounded by his loving family in Sonoma County, California. He was 73.
Born in 1952 to parents Rosalind (Cohen) and Saul Becker, Charles Becker grew up in Millbrae, where he and his family were members of Peninsula Temple Beth El Congregation. He spent many summers as a camper and later as a CIT/Counselor at Camp Swig in Saratoga. He attended Capuchino High School in San Bruno, where he excelled in mathematics and wrestling and discovered his passion for the arts.
After high school, he enrolled at San Jose State University and also began studying oil painting under the Italian master painter, Roberto Lupetti, who had helped restore the Sistine Chapel. Becker’s passion for art led him to a fulfilling career as a master painter and teacher of still life painting, portraits and figures, in styles ranging from classical and magic realism to surrealism.
In 1986, Becker’s art was featured on the cover of Southwest Art Magazine, which catapulted his career and led to him being discovered by galleries, collectors and museums alike. His work was featured in many other magazines over the decades, and he became an internationally acclaimed artist featured in dozens of exhibitions across the United States and in several countries, including Japan, France and Hong Kong. His paintings are held in private, corporate and major international collections in more than 50 countries and on permanent display at the SpritMuseum in Stockholm, Sweden.
In the early ’90s, Becker was selected as the Absolut Vodka artist to represent California, and one of the paintings Absolut commissioned was displayed in a full-page ad in USA Today and Time Magazine. He was selected as an Absolut Artist of the 1990s, following Andy Warhol who was named the Artist of the 1980s.
Becker’s work was sold at the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco along with works of other world-class artists such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.
“Charles Becker’s paintings were not objects to be observed but presences to be encountered, works that drew you into relationship each time you passed them,” said gallery owner Rowland Weinstein. “Charles was also an extraordinary human being—uniquely talented, yet equally kind, humble and caring, a rare soul I was grateful to know and to call my friend.”
As incredible an artist as Charles was, his ability to connect with people was also profound and impactful. “He was the most loving, giving and kind man, who touched many hearts with his radiant soul and emotional intelligence, all wrapped up in a killer sense of humor,” said his daughter, Jessyca Becker Hoagland. “Our dad had an incredible ability to make people feel seen and he gave the best bear hugs. The world is surely colder without his warm, brilliant and beautiful presence,” she said.
Daughter Yvonne Cobert, also an educator, described his teaching style. “He used his charismatic personality to connect with students while sharing his techniques, expertise and wisdom,” she said.
Along with time spent creating beauty in his studio, teaching and connecting with his family, Charles loved playing guitar and engaging in meaningful and deep conversations. He also enjoyed gardening, being in nature and going to the movies.
Becker met his partner, Amanda Roze, through mutual friends on Facebook. “I felt sparks from Charles’s profile picture and reached out,” Roze said. They met for coffee on an unseasonably warm and sunny January morning in 2023 “and fell in love instantly.”
Their first date lasted eight hours. “We were the perfect match in every way,” Roze said. “It was as if we had known each other in a former life and just recognized each other then. We vowed to find each other sooner in any next life. The relationship was joyful and easy, and it always felt brand new.”
Charles is survived by his loving partner Amanda Roze, his daughters Cecilia Becker, Rachael Becker, Jessyca (Dennis) Becker Hoagland and Yvonne (Jerome) Cobert; his grandchildren Levi, Max, Layton, Madeline and Baron; his sisters Joanie (Jim) Schwartz and Sheri (Bill) Galvin; numerous nieces and nephews, and his beloved students and dear friends. He is preceded in death by his mother, brothers Ken and Michael Becker, daughter Jacqueline, and family dog Shalom.
“We know they greeted him with Big Becker Hugs,” his daughters Rachael and Cecilia Becker said.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Feb. 14, at noon, at Harmony Elementary School, 1935 Bohemian Highway, Occidental. Please bring a dish to share if able.
