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.
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
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
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
$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
“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
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
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
"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
$8,000
H 46 in W 30 in D 2 in
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar
By Hossam Dirar
Located in Culver City, CA
"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar "Dancing with" (2016) by Hossam Dirar 46” x 30” Mixed media on linen canvas CHAOS This project i...
Canvas, Oil, Linen
$9,530
H 22.84 in W 19.69 in D 3.15 in
Aeneas Fleeing the Burning of Troy, 17th Century Flemish Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Firenze, IT
This oil painting on canvas, created by an artist from the 17th Century Flemish School, depicts one of the most significant scenes from Greco-Roman mythology: Aeneas saving his famil...
Canvas, Oil
America! America!
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "America! America" is a color lithograph after noted American artist James Fetherolf, 1925-1994. It is hand signed at the lower rig...
Lithograph
$1,787
H 51.19 in W 38.19 in
"Ô de la nuit", Night Blue Forest Abstract Landscape Oil Painting
By Françoise Duprat
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This large artwork figures a bamboo forest in the night. The artist impasto technique is light, with textured painting and a few small reliefs. This artwork is not framed. Françoi...
Canvas, Oil
$893
H 15.75 in W 18.9 in D 0.79 in
Untitled - Blue Landscape With Trees, XX Century Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Hallein, AT
Alina Dobrowolska - artist from Gdańsk; graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk at the Faculty of Painting. She took part in collective and individual exhibitions in Poland...
Canvas, Oil
$4,169
H 20.08 in W 28.75 in D 1.19 in
Italian Impressionist Oil on Board Marine Landscape Painting Naples Bay View
By Francesco Coppola Castaldo
Located in Firenze, IT
Everyday fishermen life is captured in this wonderful Italian impressionist late 19th century oil painting on thin board titled fishermen ashore. We love the neutral and natural colo...
Oil, Board
$172,745
H 94.49 in W 85.44 in D 1.19 in
Oil on Canvas Painting Portrait of the Italian Noble Family of Zanardi Count
By Lucia Casalini Torelli
Located in Firenze, IT
This museum quality old master oil on canvas formal portrait painting depicting the family of the Count Zanardi is signed by the artist- the female painter Lucia Casalini Torelli- and published in a book dedicated to Casalini Torelli’s workshop and academy. This palatial masterpiece artwork comes directly from the ancient Villa Maraini Guerrieri - Palidano di Gonzaga (Mantua), an historic Italian heritage building owned by the descendants of the family portrayed for more than two centuries, until 1998. The big scale of this oil on canvas masterpiece painting states the relevance of Lucia Casalini Torelli as a painter. The present artwork is a formal family portrait painting that aim to introduce the characters depicted according to their social role in the society. The noble family is all gathered under a loggia overlooking a park, the landscape in the background is partially covered by a beautiful red cloth on the right side. The father stands up and holds the hand of his eldest son, proudly introducing his future heir. The son wears a light-blue dress and red boots, he is depicted in a serious pose holding a black tricorn hat under his arm and a rapier sword on his belt. The mother wears an elegant gold and dark green brocade dress, she is sitting with her youngest daughter on her knees while her second son is by her side. The little daughter wears a lovely long red and dress with white lace and holds an apple on her hand. The son stands next to his mother and is dressed in a brown priestly clothes. This palatial old masters piece was probably painted in 1740 due to the similarities with Cardinal Doria’ s portrait, now on display at the Doria Palace Museum, the official residence of the Prince of Genoa. The painting features original canvas (“prima tela”) and antique original patina, it is in excellent overall condition considering the age, use and its large scale. A formal detailed condition report and the results of the inspection with the UV lamp accompanied by photos is available on request. As well as for its exceptional quality and quite perfect state of conservation, this painting is particularly important and even more valuable both for the artist who painted it and for its absolutely exclusive provenance. Lucia painted the most prominent and powerful noble families of her time, the location of these paintings is unknown to the art market as it is extremely likely that the portraits are still kept in private collections. Furthermore, Lucia was one of the most appreciated artists of her time, so important that she was admitted as a member of the academy at a time when women were forbidden to attend these studies. In 1706, Felice Torelli...
Canvas, Oil
Hydrofoil, Photorealist Lithograph by Raymond Loewy
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Raymond Loewy, American (1893 - 1986) Title: Hydrofoil Year: 1978 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 300 Image Size: 17 x 24 inches Size: 21 in. x 28 ...
Lithograph
$2,550
H 9.44 in W 11.88 in
'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism, Signed Lithograph
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
Ann Nooney, (Demolition with Windows, NYC)
By Ann Nooney
Located in New York, NY
The dimensions are for the image; there are large margins. This lithograph is signed in pencil. A native New Yorker, Ann Nooney (1900-1970) recorded the urban scene while on the Wo...
Lithograph
$2,120
H 23.63 in W 28.75 in
"Autumn Road", Rural Landscape with Cows Impressionist Oil Painting
By Yves Calméjane
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This artwork depicts a rural landscape, with cows in a prairie, a fence in the foreground, a farm in the background, and fall colors. Yves Calméjane usually uses light impasto techn...
Canvas, Oil
Yelding the Right of Way
By Arnold Friberg 1
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Yelding the Right of Way" c.1975 is a color offset lithograph by renown western artist Arnold Friberg, 1913-2010. It is hand signed...
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