Skip to main content

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.

to
7
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
8
2
2
2
5
3
8
7
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7
7
6
6
1
8
9,437
2,689
1,374
1,362
3
8
Artist: Charles E. Chambers
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

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

“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

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

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

"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

The Piano Lesson
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Left
Category

20th Century Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

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 ...
Category

20th Century Other Art Style Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Related Items
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...
Category

17th Century Baroque Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pierre Montezin large French Impressionist painting harvesting scene and poplars
By PIERRE EUGÈNE MONTEZIN, 1874 - 1946
Located in Harkstead, GB
Montezin's dazzling display of brushwork captures the effects of the sunlight on the water and the glittering leaves of the poplar trees. A masterwork by the artist presented in the ...
Category

Early 20th Century Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Rare 18th Century English Still Life of Grapes, Peaches and Strawberries
Located in Harkstead, GB
A rare and most attractive still life by William Jones of Bath. The sumptuous textures of the peaches, grapes and strawberries contrasting with the dark background. A really handsome...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Circle of Duncan Grant, Bloomsbury set, Rye Windmill by the river
By Duncan Grant
Located in Harkstead, GB
This idyllic scene with the reflections in the water is of Rye Windmill in East Sussex, an area which was frequented by Duncan Grant and his Bloomsbury friends and associates. Circl...
Category

Early 20th Century English School Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Circle of Duncan Grant, Bloomsbury set, Rye Windmill by the river
Circle of Duncan Grant, Bloomsbury set, Rye Windmill by the river
$826 Sale Price
20% Off
H 14 in W 10 in D 2 in
J. Brunner 1869 Oil on Canvas Austrian Landscape with Lake and Mountain Painting
Located in Firenze, IT
This very fine quality 19th century oil on canvas in dark brown wood frame with gold leaves details throughout is signed by Joseph Brunner (Vienna 1826-...
Category

19th Century Romantic Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Early 20th century Art Deco Male nude oil painting of Narcissus
By George Frederick Hinchcliff
Located in Harkstead, GB
An incredibly striking study of the male form with the figure set against a colourful background with stylised organic forms. Attractively framed, the painting is ready to be hung an...
Category

1930s Modern Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Impressionist, Figures on the beach, South of France, French Riviera
By Henri-André Martin
Located in Harkstead, GB
One of several paintings that we are offering by Henri-André Martin's. A wonderfully evocative image of an expansive beach with figures relaxing on a beach in the South of France, pa...
Category

20th Century Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Oil on Canvas Depicting William Shakespeare's Characters "Othello & Desdemona"
By Hamilton Hamilton
Located in LA, CA
Hamilton Hamilton (American, 1847-1928) A large and impressive oil on canvas "Othello and Desdemona" after the William Shakespeare's play "Othello", depicting a young Desdemona pleading with an enraged Othello, and perhaps Iago is the seated figure, within a giltwood craquelure finished frame. Signed (l/r): H. Hamilton, 1921 . Canvas Height: 67 inches (170.2 cm) Canvas Width: 48 inches (121.9 cm) Frame Height: 75 inches (190.5 cm) Frame Width: 57 inches (144.8 cm) Frame Depth: 2 inches (5.1 cm) Hamilton Hamilton (1 April 1847 – 4 January 1928) was a painter and etcher, known mostly for his landscapes of the American West. Born in Oxford, England, he lived most of his life in the Eastern United States. He painted landscapes in New York, Connecticut, the American West, England, and France. He also painted portraits and drew illustrations. Artistic career Hamilton Hamilton was born in Oxford, England, on 1 April 1847. While young, he was a protégé of John Ruskin. In 1872, he began his mostly self-taught career as a portrait artist in Buffalo, New York. He created 47 landscape paintings during an 1873 expedition to Colorado which were chosen to be part of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He spent 1878 and 1879 painting in Pont-Aven, Brittany, alongside Barbizon School painters. He moved to New York City in 1881 and shortly after began to practice genre painting and etching.[6] He became an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1886 and a National Academician in 1889. Until the end of the century, he and his family resided alternately in upstate New York, Long Island, Colorado, and England.[6] In 1907 and 1908, Hamilton spent two years painting landscapes in Southern California. In 1912 he and his family permanently moved to Norwalk, Connecticut. There he became involved with the Silvermine group of artists led by Solon Borglum...
Category

Early 20th Century American Impressionist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

A nude - Realistic oil painting, Warm tones, Young Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
AGNIESZKA STAAK-JANCZARSKA (born in 1994) A graduate of the State Secondary School of Art of Józef Kluza in Krakow. In 2020, she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in ...
Category

2010s Naturalistic Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Cardboard, 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...
Category

1930s American Realist Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Lithograph

"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

Arthur Wardle, British oil painting of leopard basking by a river
By Arthur Wardle
Located in Harkstead, GB
An incredibly captivating image of a leopard basking on a rock by a river. Not only is this a very striking study of a magnificent feline but there is also a narrative here with a py...
Category

Early 20th Century Victorian Charles E. Chambers Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Previously Available Items
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

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.

Artists Similar to Charles E. Chambers

Recently Viewed

View All