Charles Franklin Lyen was born in Galland, Iowa on April 25, 1895 and passed away at the age of 52 in Cypress, California on March 10, 1948.



His boyhood was spent on a farm on the banks of the Mississippi River. He played the banjo for dances when he was only 10 years old. He saved his money from his banjo playing and the sale of his furs for violin lessons.



He met Madge Ferris Bergh in 1919 and they were married in 1920. As an adult he was a musical composer who liked to set his poetry to music. He composed music for the piano and violin. He began painting as a teenager and painted his entire life .