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
“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
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
H 32 in W 44 in
Wine Bottles and Fruit on Table
By Zygmund Jankowski
Located in Gloucester, MA
Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...
Canvas, Oil
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...
Lithograph
H 13.5 in W 10.75 in
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
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
H 7.88 in W 7.88 in D 1.19 in
Rosehip-21st Century Still-life Painting of a Glass Bowl with Pink Rosehips
By Ksenya Istomina
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Ksenya Istomina Rosehip 20 x 20 cm (Framed 32 x 32 cm) Oil on cardboard This Still-life painting by Russian artist Ksenya Istomina is made in 2020 during the Lockdown in Russia. The...
Oil, Cardboard
H 22.25 in W 34.25 in D 0.01 in
The Long Trail West
By Arnold Friberg 1
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "TheLong Trail West" c.1980 is a color offset lithograph by renown western artist Arnold Friberg, 1913-2010. It is hand signed and n...
Lithograph
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
H 23.5 in W 34 in D 0.01 in
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
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
H 25 in W 19.5 in
Destination Unknown, Ernie Barnes
By Ernie Barnes
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Earnie Barnes (1938-2009) Title: Destination Unknown Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph on archival paper Size: 25 x 19.5 inches Edition: 120/300, plus proofs Condition: Good Insc...
Lithograph
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
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"
Canvas, Oil
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...
Canvas, Oil