As a child, his mother died, as his father had a mysterious paralysis. Charles supported his family since he was age 14. He worked his way up from a store clerk to an accountant. Then a partnership in a railcar manufacturing company made him a fortune.
At age 45, he retired. Why? It was unclear. He’d been plagued by ‘neurasthenia’ and assorted nervous conditions, was the talk.
He’d gone on to buy a lot of art, from Asian art to the paintings of his friend, James McNeill Whistler. He created a museum.