Painter, illustrator, etcher, muralist. Born in Altona, Germany on January 11,1868. Yens (or Jens as he is also known) studied with Max Koch in Berlin and with Constant and Laurens in Paris. He was active as a muralist in Germany and Edingburgh, Scotland before coming to the U.S. in 1901. During the first decade in his adopted country he continued mural commissions in New York City and Washington, DC until 1910 when he settled in Southern California. He was active in Los Angeles and Pasadena before moving to Laguna Beach in 1918. His studio still stands in Laguna Beach on South Coast Highway near Ruby Street. A versatile painter, his oeuvre includes portraits, still lifes, landscapes, genre subjects, and many studio figure studies. Equally facile with oil and watercolor, his work is distinguished by his bold, colorful, and decorative style. Yens died in Laguna Beach on April 13, 1945.

Member : Modern Art Society (cofounder); California Art Club; California Teachers Association; California Society of Miniature Painters; Academy of Western Painters, Los Angeles; California Watercolor Society; American Federation of Arts; Laguna Beach Art Association (cofounder); Artland Club; Painters and Sculptors of Los Angeles; Long Beach Art Association; San Diego Fine Arts Society; American Artists Professional League; Los Angeles Art Association.

Exhibited : Boston Art Club, 1903; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual, 1904; Panama- California International Exposition, San Diego, 1915 (medal); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1918, 1922, 1929; California Art Club, 1919 (prize); Laguna Beach Art Association, 1921 (prize), 1922 (prize), 1924 (medal), 1925 (prize), 1927 (prize), 1935 (prize); California Watercolor Society, 1922 (prize); Southern California Fair, Riverside, 1922 (prize), 1928 (prize); Southwest Museum, 1922 (prize); Los Angeles Painters and Sculptors, 1923 (prize), 1928 (medal); Arizona State Fair, Phoenix, 1923 (prize), 1927 (prize), 1928 (prize); San Francisco Art Association, 1925; Orange County (CA) Fair, 1923 (prize), 1925 (prize), 1927 (prize); Los Angeles County Fair, 1924 (prize), 1928 (prize); Artists of Southern California, San Diego, 1926 (prize); Biltmore Salon, Los Angeles, 1926 (medal); International Bookplate Association, 1927 (prize); Sacramento State Fair, 1927 (prize), 1934 (prize); Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, 1928 (prize); Pacific Southwest Exposition, Long Beach, 1928 (gold); Second Annual Statewide Art Exhibition, Santa Cruz, 1929 (prize); Annual Exhibition, Springville, UT, 1931 (prize); Oakland Art Gallery, 1932; California State Fair, Sacramento, 1935 (prize); Laguna Beach Art Association, 1935 (prize); Aeronautical Art Exhibition, T.W.A., 1937 (prize); Golden Gate Exhibition, 1939; Art Institute of Chicago.

Works held : City Hall, Altona, Germany; Country Club House, Brookline, MA; Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh; Astor Theatre, New York City; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; California State Exposition Building, Los Angeles; University of California, Los Angeles; Clearwater High School; Laguna Beach High School; Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego; San Pedro High School; U.S.S. California; John H. Vanderpoel Art Association, Chicago; Bowers Memorial Museum, Santa Ana.

Sources : WW40; WW06; Hughes, Artists in California, 625.