Charles Arthur Fries (1854-1940) was an American painter active in Cincinnati and San Diego in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

In that same year he also began attending night classes at the McMicken School of Design, which later became the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Fries prospered as the city grew and he exhibited widely, including shows in New York, San Francisco, and Berkeley.

In 1918 he was a founding member of the La Jolla Art Association, along with other prominent San Diego artists, including Maurice Braun and Alfred Mitchell.

In 1936, at the age of 82, Fries made one final sketching trip into the mountains east of San Diego and in 1937 he participated in the Federal Art Project.