Carl C. Brenner was born in Lauterecken, Bavaria, Germany in 1838 and died in Louisville, KY in 1888.

Brenner emigrated to the United States in 1853 and lived briefly in New Orleans before moving permanently to Louisville, KY. He worked originally with his father as a glazier and subsequently as a housepainter, sign, and ornamental painter. In 1878 he became a landscape painter. He visited the Rockies in 1884. His works exhibit a wide range of styles including Romanticiam, Realism, and Tonalism. His favorite subject was beech trees. He was the father of the artist Carolus Brenner.

Brenner exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1877 to 1886. He exhibited Glimpse from Wildcat Mountain at the Louisville Industrial Exposition in 1879. He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1878 and from 1881 to 1885.

References
New Hampshire Scenery
Who Was Who in American Art