Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Carlos Andreson studied art first at the University of Utah and later in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Berlin. He returned to the United States in 1933, and found work in the WPA Federal Arts Project where he specialized in images of early pioneer life. He also taught at the Utah Arts Center and some of his drawings were used to illustrate programs for the Utah Symphony. Andreson stayed in New York through WWII after which he moved to San Francisco where he later produced artwork for the Oakland Army Base.