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
$10,000
H 60 in W 48 in
Dante's Summer - Vibrant Red Orange Atmospheric Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mark Acetelli’s oil and mixed media paintings awaken the viewer’s sense of exploration and adventure; they demand a new discovery. His artworks exhibit a chemistry of complexity and ...
Canvas, Oil
$24,177
H 26.5 in W 36.5 in D 3.25 in
19th Century Scottish Highland landscape oil painting of a Loch at sunset
By Alfred de Breanski Sr.
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Alfred de Breanski Snr British, (1852-1928) Sunset over a Scottish Highland Loch Oil on canvas, signed Image size: 19.5 inches x 29.5 inches Size including frame: 26.5 inches x 36....
Canvas, Oil
$17,052
H 19.69 in W 32.29 in D 0.79 in
Pair of Romantic Bavarian Paintings by Karl Adolf Wilhelm Chelius - 1889
Located in Roma, IT
Pair of romantic Bavarian paintings is an old master artwork realized in 1889 by the master Karl Adolf Wilhelm Chelius (1856-1923). Mixed colored oil panting on...
Oil, Canvas
$5,295
H 31.89 in W 39.38 in D 0.99 in
Large White Rose Oil Painting, Contemporary Floral Artwork, France, 2010
Located in AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FR
"Blooming Rose” is an oil painting on Linen canvas created in 2010 by the French artist Françoise de Beaucé. From a private collection. This elegant artwork celebrates the timeless b...
Oil, Canvas, Linen
$32,007
H 32.25 in W 44.25 in D 3 in
19th Century Scottish Highland landscape oil painting of Loch Lubnaig
By Alfred de Breanski Sr.
Located in Nr Broadway, Worcestershire
Alfred de Breanski Snr British, (1852-1928) The Head of Loch Lubnaig Oil on canvas, signed & transcribed verso Image size: 23.5 inches x 35.5 inches Size...
Canvas, Oil
$32,929
H 38.98 in W 53.15 in D 2.17 in
The Return from Fishing - Oil Paint by Giovan Battista Filosa - 1908
Located in Roma, IT
The Return from Fishing (Original Title: Il Ritorno dalla Pesca), is an original oil painting realized by Giovan Battista Filosa in 1908. Some fishermen seen from behind, in the blue light of the sky, with the vesuvius in the background, are the protagonists of the painting in "Il ritorno dalla pesca" by Giovan Battista Filosa (Castellamare di Stabia 1850 - Naples 1935) student of the famous Neapolitan painter...
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
$1,980
H 14.57 in W 18.12 in D 0.79 in
Passing Clouds, Before The Storm: A Dramatic Belle Époque Landscape
By Paul Leon Felix Schmitt
Located in Norwich, GB
This striking oil landscape is dominated by a vast, cinematic sky, rendered with the rapid, "plein air" brushwork that defined the late 19th-century French school. Rather than a stat...
Oil, Board
Cape Cod Harbor Scene
By Kristina Nemethy
Located in New York, NY
A stunning depiction of boats docked in a Cape Cod harbor. Nemethy uses a bold impressionistic technique with thick use of paint and wonderful impressi...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$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
$2,060
H 20 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
Vintage 1970's Harbour Scene with Moored Boats & Fishermen by British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Vintage 1970's Harbour Scene with Moored Boats & Fishermen by British Artist, William Stockman (1935-2021). Art measures 31 x 15 inches Frame measures 36 x 20 inches Fishermen mend...
Oil, Board
$6,000
H 28.5 in W 32.5 in D 2.5 in
"Boulevard des Italiens" French Impressionist City Scene Oil Painting on Canvas
By Paul Gagni
Located in New York, NY
This piece is an exceptional impressionistic cityscape scene by Paul Gagni of 'Boulevard des Italiens' in Paris. The boulevard des Italiens is one of the 'Grands Boulevards' in Paris...
Canvas, Oil
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