Charles Austin Needham studied with August Will (1834-1910) in his native Buffalo, and then at the Art Students League in New York. A painter, sculptor, illustrator, and craftsman, he was a member of the American Water Color Society, the New York Watercolor Club, and the Salmagundi Club in New York. He showed works in the exhibitions of the above organizations; in annuals at the National Academy of Design in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Boston Art Club; and at international exhibitions, including the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where he won a bronze medal.