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.
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
“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
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
$6,500
H 21.88 in W 25.25 in D 1.5 in
17th Century Memento Mori Vanitas Skull Old Master Oil Ex-Christie’s
Located in Yardley, PA
This wonderful 17th-century French School vanitas painting is a meditation on mortality and the transience of earthly pleasures. The composition centers on a finely rendered human sk...
Canvas, Oil
$1,500
H 27.5 in W 35.5 in D 0.8 in
Indian Summer, Figurative Art, Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
By Anatoly Tarabanov
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Anatoly Borisovich Tarabanov Work: Original oil painting, handmade artwork, one of a kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2021 Style: Contemporary Art Title: Indian Summer Size...
Canvas, Oil
$4,706
H 30.32 in W 24.41 in
Workshop of Sebastiano Ricci - 18th Venetian Baroque Adoration of Shepherds
Located in Varmo, IT
Workshop of Sebastiano Ricci (Belluno 1659 - Venice 1734) - Adoration of the Shepherds. 55 x 43 cm (without frame) - 77 x 62 cm (with frame). Oil on canvas, in an ornate carved an...
Canvas, Oil
$412
H 11.82 in W 9.45 in D 0.12 in
Contemporary impressionist oil floral painting on board "Iris dreams in bloom"
By Mougenot Natalya
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This, contemporary impressionist expressive floral painting takes new form in "Irises Dreams in Bloom", a vibrant creation by French artist Natalya Mougenot. With a signature blend...
Oil, Cardboard
$1,400
H 21.5 in W 17.5 in D 2 in
Venetian Flower Seller Impressionist oil painting (Hanoverton Ohio artist)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
J Charles Arter (1860-19230 Flower Seller, ca. 1890. Oil on canvas board, 10.75 x 15 inches. Measuring 17.5 x 21.5 inches in original antique frame. Signed by artist, center lef...
Oil, Fiberboard
$3,400
H 24 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
Wanderlust, Dominic Finocchio, 2023, Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas
By Dominic Finocchio
Located in St. Louis, MO
Dominic Finocchio, an American painter raised in St. Louis, is known for his narrative figurative works that explore masculinity through modern male figures in contemporary settings....
Canvas, Oil
$5,443
H 30 in W 25 in D 1 in
The Dueling Partners 1850's French Oil, Chateau Staircase Interior Beautiful oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Duel by Alcide Joseph LORENTZ (French 1813-1891) signed and dated 1857 oil painting on canvas, framed framed size: 30 x 25 inches canvas: 25 x 20.5 inches condition: very good an...
Canvas, Oil
$6,475
H 15.36 in W 20.08 in
Assassination of Clarence in the Tower; Scene from Richard III, Act I, Sc. 4
By Egron Sellif Lundgren
Located in Stockholm, SE
Egron Sellif Lundgren (Stockholm 1815–1875 Stockholm) The assassination of George, Duke of Clarence in the Tower of London; A Scene from Shakespeare’s Richard III (Act I, scene 4) ...
Canvas, Oil
$6,950
H 30 in W 26 in
English Mid century oil of a cafe or Pub interior, people seated and drinking
Located in Woodbury, CT
M. Ricket (British, mid-20th century) Café Interior Oil on canvas, signed lower right Presented in a carved gilt frame This engaging mid-century scene by M. Ricket captures the war...
Canvas, Oil
$2,150
H 17 in W 20 in
Mid 20th century Impressionist, French landscape with cottage
Located in Woodbury, CT
Mid-20th century Impressionist scene, French landscape with cottage The painter was active around the middle of the 20th century, painting landscapes, portraits, and city scenes. ...
Oil, Board
$10,000
H 10 in W 12 in D 1.25 in
"Washington Square Park Nocturne" Impressionist Oil Painting with Figures in NYC
By Johann Berthelsen, 1883-1972
Located in New York, NY
A stunning jewel and pertinent example of Berthelsen's charming New York City scenes. Here we find a Washington Square Park at night and the Manhattan buildings depicted in the far b...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$2,000
H 36.03 in W 30.12 in D 0.79 in
Silent Protest. Original painting. Featured collection
By Roxana Khonkulova
Located in Zofingen, AG
The painting conveys a moment of deep reflection and inner focus. It is a quiet assertion of its space and time, where there is no need for words. The subtle details of the setting e...
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