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.
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by Somerset Maugham
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by W. Somerset Maugham, published in Cosmopolitan, November 1934, pages 22-23. Described as "A masterfully witty story of manners and...
Canvas, Oil
Family Escape
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1917 Medium: Oil on Board Dimensions: 32.00" x 21.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Story illustration: Group of people gathered around seated old woman. “Isn't it quite as i...
Oil, Board
Original "Food Will Win The War" vintage World War 1 poster
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Spokane, WA
Original World War 1 vintage poster: Food Will Wn the War. Arhival linen backed. PRINTER: Rusling Wood Litho., New York Bright and in good condition. There is some marks down the left side of the poster, possible ink from when the poster was printed. This poster calls on immigrants to do their part in the war effort. It depicts recent immigrants standing near a sailing ship with the Statue of Liberty and a rainbow stretched across the New York City skyline in the background. The text reads: You came here seeking Freedom. You must now help preserve it. Wheat is needed by the allies. Waste nothing. The generosity and compassion of the American people and the great agricultural resources of the North American continent would be called upon... Twenty million Americans signed pledges of membership in the Food Administration...
Lithograph
She Answers The Question
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Image of two men standing in front of woman seated at desk. Charles Edward Chambers was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and later the Art Students Lea...
Canvas, Oil
“Wang the Tiger had his own port…” Story illustration for Sons by Pearl S. Buck
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1932 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 24.00" x 33.00" Signature: Signed Lower Left Story illustration for “Sons” by Pearl S. Buck, published in Cosmopolitan, October 1932, pages 66-67. "Sons" serves as the poignant sequel to Buck's story The Good Earth...
Canvas, Oil
"Ringmaster"
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration, image of man on couch, woman in chair writing Charles Edward Chambers was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and later the Art Students League in New York with George Bridgman. His illustrations were extremely skillful, marked by subtlety of value and color. He early learned to adapt his method of painting for the best possible reproduction, and to insure fidelity of printing, he often followed the assignments through to the hands of the engraver who made the plates. Chambers divided his time almost equally between editorial and advertising assignments. Among his advertising commissions was an outstanding series of portraits of musicians for Steinway & Sons. His distinctive illustrations for billboards, notably for Chesterfield and Palmolive Soap...
Canvas, Oil
$14,800Sale Price|20% Off
“I was playing Chopin, with an ache in my heart.” Illustration for Harper’s Mag
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Story illustration for “The High Cost of Conscience” by Beatrice Witt Ravenel for Harper’s Magazine, published January 1919. Year: 1918 Dimensions: 30.00" x 21.00", Framed 35.5" x ...
Canvas, Oil
Couple with Chauffeur
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Couple in a car with a Chauffeur Signed lower left. Charles Edward Chambers was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and later the Art Students League in ...
Canvas, Oil
$329
H 13 in W 13 in D 1.19 in
Stinchcombe Hill, Rupert Aker, Original painting, Impressionist style Landscape
By Rupert Aker
Located in Deddington, GB
Stinchcombe Hill by Rupert Aker [2022] original Oil on board Image size: H:30 cm x W:30 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:30 cm x W:30 cm x D:2cm Frame Size: H:33 cm x W:33 cm x ...
Canvas, Oil
$610
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.8 in
Pacific Coast, Seascape, cliffs, Original Oil Painting, Handmade artwork
By Vahe Yeremyan
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Vahe Yeremyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2020 Style: Impressionism, Subject: Pacific Coast, Size: 16" x 20" ...
Canvas, Oil
$65,700
H 29 in W 52.5 in
"The Three B's of Music" Beethoven, Bach, & Brahms, An Extremely Rare Painting
Located in Queens, NY
"The Three B's of Music" Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms, An Extremely Rare Oil Painting, C. 1880 "A true music lovers dream" - A true work of art. A very rare and collectible oil on canvas triptych painting depicting portraits of "The Three Bs of Classical Music": Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms - Housed in a fine carved and painted frame in gold gilt and green paint by Frederick Harer, with musical scores underneath each portrait. The paintings appear to be unsigned. The frame is signed on the back "F. W. Harer" and dated 1918. Each canvas: 17" high x 14" wide Outside frame: 29" high x 52.5" wide Provenance: Academy of Music, Philadelphia PA. Very good condition overall, no damages noted. Paintings are relined, some gold gilt highlights are rubbed in some areas of the frame. Frederick Harer was an American painter, sculptor and etcher, best known for his skill as a gilder and frame maker. He produced frames for many of the Pennsylvania Impressionist painters, including Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber. Today, having a Harer frame on a Pennsylvania Impressionist painting...
Canvas, Oil
$1,850
H 20.08 in W 13.78 in
1943 War Period Textured Still Life Of Table With Oranges And Bottle
Located in Frederiksberg C, DK
A charming and decorative composition painted in 1943 by Danish artist Evan Wulff. This stilleben painting unveils a rustic table adorned simply with a wine bottle and two oranges. T...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$1,000
H 20 in W 16 in
Adam Shaw - "Street Market" - Contemporary Urban Scene Oil Painting 2021
Located in Denver, CO
Adam Shaw's "Street Market" is an original, handmade oil painting on canvas created in 2021. This vibrant contemporary artwork measures 20 x 16 inches (50.80 x 40.64 cm) with a depth...
Canvas, Oil
$1,250
H 17 in W 25 in D 2 in
Vintage Oil Painting "Strings and Brass" Symphony Oil Painting c.1989
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vintage Oil Painting "Strings and Brass" Symphony Oil Painting c.1989 Original oil on canvas Canvas dimensions 24" wide x 16" high The simple maple frame measures 25" wide x 17" h...
Canvas, Oil
$2,609
H 13.78 in W 10.63 in
Circle Teniers, Flemish Art, Peasants smoking and drinking in a Tavern Interior
By David Teniers the Younger
Located in Greven, DE
Circle or Follower of David Teniers, Peasant in a Tavern Inn, drinking and smoking. Oil on canvas, Framed: 39 x 47 cm. Typical Flemish Baroque Interior...
Canvas, Oil
April
By René Romero Schuler
Located in Napa, CA
René Romero Schuler is an American painter and sculptor who creates powerful images that speak to the complexities of the human condition and the spirit that connects all human being...
Canvas, Oil
'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism
By Thomas Hart Benton
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Thomas Hart Benton, 'Goin' Home', lithograph, 1937, edition 250, Fath 14. Signed in pencil. Signed in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white, wove pape...
Lithograph
$2,800
H 24 in W 20.125 in D 0.75 in
Robert White "Modern Mythology" 2021 Oil with Anatomical Realism & Surreal Edge
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE – "MODERN MYTHOLOGY" ⚜ Oil on canvas ⚜ Hand signed lower right ⚜ Frameless display SURREALISM MEETS CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITURE In “Modern Mythology,” Robert Kenne...
Oil, Canvas
$5,100
H 36.125 in W 32 in D 1 in
Robert K. White "To the Beach at Del Mar" 2021 Oil, Southern California Scene
Located in Miami, FL
ROBERT KENNETH WHITE – "TO THE BEACH AT DEL MAR" ⚜ Oil on canvas ⚜ Hand signed on verso ⚜ Frameless display SUNLIT MOMENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Inspired by a real-life encounter, Robert Kenneth White captures the quiet magnetism of a spontaneous moment on a sunlit road in Del Mar. The figure—draped in white and holding a woven beach bag...
Canvas, Oil
$900
H 16.25 in W 20.25 in
"The Slope Near the Bridge" Paul Sample, Mid-Century, American Snowy Landscape
By Paul Sample
Located in New York, NY
Paul Sample The Slope Near the Bridge, 1950 Signed in pencil lower left Lithograph on wove paper Image 8 15/16 x 12 15/16 inches Sheet 11 5/16 x 15 1/16 inches From the edition of 25...
Paper, Lithograph
Elderly Couple
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Left Framed: 36.00" x 41.00"
Canvas, Oil
Couple Parting on Porch in Snow
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1915 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 30.00" x 21.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Couple parting on porch in snow. “They had formed a little code of leave-taking” Story illustration: “The Turmoil”, author: Booth Tarkington...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 11.03 in D 21.26 in
Original Vintage Poster for Chesterfield Cigarettes Featuring a Tennis Player
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in London, GB
Original vintage poster for Chesterfield Cigarettes: On the court it's flash! In a cigarette it's taste! Great image of a lady playing tennis we...
Lithograph, Paper