Bull's first job at the age of 16 was preparing animals for mounting at the Ward's Museum in Rochester, New York. He later worked as a taxidermist in Washington, D.C specializing in anatomy of birds and animals.
During World War I, he designed recruiting posters. A notable example is Join the Army Air Service. Be an American eagle! which featured an eagle fighting a black bird.[3]
Bull lived for many years near the Bronx Zoo in New York to allow close access to be able to sketch living animals. He made many trips to Central and South America studying wildlife in their natural surrounding. Stories and illustrations for this trip were published in his book, Under the Roof of the Jungle. He made many drawings to help garner public interest in eagles.[4]
Bull was a resident of Oradell, New Jersey and donated several of his works to the Oradell Public Library.[5]
^Reed, Walt and Roger (1984). The Illustrator in America. Madison Square Press Inc. p. 91. ISBN-0-94260403-2.
^RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORADELL PUBLIC LIBRARY, Congressional Record, April 26, 2013, 113th Congress, 1st Session - Issue: Vol. 159, No. 59 — Daily Edition. Accessed July 17, 2013. "World renowned painter Charles Livingston Bull, an Oradell resident and an original board member, donated multiple works of art which reside in the library to this day."