Charles E. Chambers Art

American, 1883-1941

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.

Artist: Charles E. Chambers

Charles E. ChambersOriginal "Food Will Win The War" vintage World War 1 poster, 1917

$1,100

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...

Category

1910s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Lithograph

Charles E. ChambersFamily Escape, 1917

$29,000

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...

Category

1910s Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Charles E. ChambersStory illustration for “Appearance and Reality” by Somerset Maugham, 1934

$12,500

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...

Category

1930s Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. Chambers“Wang the Tiger had his own port…” Story illustration for Sons by Pearl S. Buck, 1932

$2,900

“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...

Category

1930s Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. Chambers“I was playing Chopin, with an ache in my heart.” Illustration for Harper’s Mag, 1918

$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 ...

Category

20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. Chambers"Ringmaster", 1920

$19,000

"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...

Category

1920s Other Art Style Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. ChambersShe Answers The Question, 1920

$7,000

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...

Category

1920s Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. ChambersCouple with Chauffeur

$19,500

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 ...

Category

20th Century Other Art Style Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hossam Dirar"Dancing with" Abstract Acrylic on Linen Painting 46" x 30" inch by Hossam Dirar, 2018

$7,250

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...

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21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Linen

Adolphus Knell19th Century English fishing boats at sunrise, Circa 1870

$3,950

H 17 in W 23.5 in

19th Century English fishing boats at sunrise

By Adolphus Knell

Located in Woodbury, CT

Adolphus Knell (British, circa 1870) Coastal Vessels in Choppy Seas Oil on board, presented in its original gilt frame Signed lower right This atmospheric marine study by Adolphus Kn...

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1870s Victorian Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Between Lessons – A Schoolboy Lost in Thought, Early 1900s

$1,990

H 9.45 in W 11.42 in

Between Lessons – A Schoolboy Lost in Thought

Located in Stockholm, SE

Unidentified Artist Schoolboy, Early 1900s century signed lower left oil on canvas unframed 24 × 29 cm (9.4 × 11.4 in) framed 41 × 47 cm (16.1 × 18.5 in) This intimate genre pain...

Category

Early 20th Century Romantic Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

John HaskinsMan Walking the Dog at a River Side in the Lush Green English Countryside, 1985 Circa

$814Sale Price|25% Off

H 26 in W 33 in D 3 in

Man Walking the Dog at a River Side in the Lush Green English Countryside

By John Haskins

Located in Preston, GB

Man Walking the Dog at a River Side in the Lush Green English Countryside by 20th Century British Artist Art measures 20 x 16 inches Frame measures 25 x 21 inches John Haskins...

Category

20th Century Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Tomaso de SimoneBritish Schooner Anchored at Naples, Dated 1864

$21,500

H 27.5 in W 35.5 in

British Schooner Anchored at Naples

Located in Costa Mesa, CA

A classic scene of a large mid-Nineteenth Century schooner at rest in the Mediterranean port painted by the Italian countryman Tomaso De Simone. The complete narrative scene around the schooner's broadside is complemented with a British merchant steam/sail ship, local boats and the colorful sky and headland architecture of the ancient city. The vast serenity and unspoiled life of cruising the Mediterranean Ocean...

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1860s Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Thomas Hart Benton'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism, 1934

$2,550

H 9.44 in W 11.88 in

'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...

Category

1930s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Lithograph

Richard SigafoosAntique American 1910 Oil on board Painting Seashore Island Beach Women framed, 1920

$1,800

H 12 in W 14 in

Antique American 1910 Oil on board Painting Seashore Island Beach Women framed

Located in Buffalo, NY

This evocative oil painting by Richard Sigafoos presents a solitary coastal rock formation rising against a softly illuminated seascape. Rendered with confident, expressive brushwork...

Category

1920s American Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Joseph Louis Francois LepinePaysage d'Automne - Impressionist Landscape Oil by Joseph Louis Francois Lepine, c.1910

$5,806

H 15.5 in W 19 in

Paysage d'Automne - Impressionist Landscape Oil by Joseph Louis Francois Lepine

Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Signed pointillist oil on board landscape circa 1910 by French impressionist painter Joseph Louis Francois Lepine. The painting depicts a landscape in autumn. The green leaves are tu...

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1910s Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Paul Sample"The Slope Near the Bridge" Paul Sample, Mid-Century, American Snowy Landscape, 1950

$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...

Category

1950s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Angela WakefieldBlue Sky in New York City Sun by British Contemporary Urban Landscape Artist, 2014

$3,680Sale Price|25% Off

H 23 in W 29 in D 1.7 in

Blue Sky in New York City Sun by British Contemporary Urban Landscape Artist

By Angela Wakefield

Located in Preston, GB

Blue Sky, Sunshine on Manhattan Street - Figurative New York City Painting by Leading British Urban Landscape Artist, Angela Wakefield, with dramatic light and colours. Art measures...

Category

2010s Young British Artists (YBA) Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Paint, Acrylic, Board, Gesso, Acrylic Polymer, Varnish, Mixed Media, Oil

James FetherolfAmerica! America!, 1973

$400

H 22 in W 29.8 in D 0.01 in

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...

Category

Late 20th Century American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Lithograph

Jean HalterBucks Count Farm in Winter, Landscape by Pennsylvania Folk Art Painter

$4,000

H 20 in W 24 in D 2 in

Bucks Count Farm in Winter, Landscape by Pennsylvania Folk Art Painter

Located in Doylestown, PA

Bucks County Farm in Winter is a figurative landscape by Pennsylvania Folk Art painter, Jean Halter. The 12" x 16" oil on board painting is framed and signed "Jean Halter" in the lower right. Jean Harris Halter was born in 1916 and spent her youth between Thornburg, Pennsylvania where her father oversaw Harris plumbing, and Camden, South Carolina, where they also had a home. She studied art, among other things, in Converse College. In 1939 she married Robert Halter, a musician with a traveling big band, which he quit soon after marrying. While he was gone for three years with the Signal Corps in the South Pacific, Jean took care of their two little daughters, their kennel of Pulis, and began to paint antique chairs...

Category

1950s Folk Art Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Previously Available Items

Charles E. ChambersElderly Couple

Sold

H 32 in W 36 in

Elderly Couple

By Charles E. Chambers

Located in Fort Washington, PA

Signature: Signed Lower Left Framed: 36.00" x 41.00"

Category

20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. ChambersCouple Parting on Porch in Snow, 1915

Sold

H 30 in W 21 in

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...

Category

1910s Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles E. Chambers art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Charles E. Chambers art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Charles E. Chambers in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Not every interior allows for large Charles E. Chambers art, so small editions measuring 20 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Coby Whitmore, Henry Soulen, and Benton Clark. Charles E. Chambers art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,100 and tops out at $29,000, while the average work can sell for $15,500.