Charles E. Chambers Art
The work of American realist painter and illustrator Charles Edward Chambers is characterized by such an exceptional mastery of color and composition that, in his day, his refined figurative paintings may have fooled collectors into thinking he was a graduate of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
Born in 1883 in Ottumwa, Iowa, Chambers studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York under Canadian-American painter George Bridgman. Another of his teachers was illustrator Fanny Munsell (later his wife), who influenced his style and technique. Munsell secured illustration work for a range of magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Women’s Home Companion, before she died in 1920.
Chambers learned to modify his painting technique so that his work was primed for reproduction on a mass scale. He gained recognition as a classical figurative painter and illustrator during World War I when, in 1917, he illustrated a well-known poster for the U.S. Food Administration titled Food Will Win The War. He was also a regular contributor as an illustrator at the time to Harper’s Monthly and created covers for Redbook magazine.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Chambers kept busy with editorial assignments and advertising campaigns. While it’s true that Art Nouveau posters were plastered everywhere along the streets of Paris during the early years of the Belle Époque, poster art continued to remain very relevant in the Art Deco years, too. While creating illustrations for authors such as Pearl Buck, W. Somerset Maugham, Faith Baldwin and Louis Bromfield, Chambers earned advertising commissions from the decades’ prominent companies and brands. These included painting portraits of famous musicians Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alfred Cortot and Ignacy Jan Paderewski for Steinway & Sons and designing billboard ads and posters for cigarette company Chesterfield and soap manufacturer Palmolive.
Today, Chambers’s works remain favorites among collectors of vintage 20th-century art.
Find original Charles Edward Chambers paintings and prints on 1stDibs.
1910s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Lithograph
20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
1940s Charles E. Chambers Art
Canvas, Oil
1910s Charles E. Chambers Art
Board, Oil
20th Century Other Art Style Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
1920s Other Art Style Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
1920s Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
1960s Cubist Charles E. Chambers Art
Canvas, Oil, Gouache, Board
Early 18th Century Baroque Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Lithograph
1810s Charles E. Chambers Art
Board, Oil
Mid-20th Century American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Etching
1980s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Offset
Mid-20th Century American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Drypoint, Etching
1910s American Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art
Board, Oil
1880s French School Charles E. Chambers Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Wood, Oil, Cardboard
1970s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art
Lithograph
1920s Charles E. Chambers Art
Paper
20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art
Oil, Canvas
1910s Charles E. Chambers Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Charles E. Chambers Art
Paper