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.
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
$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
$6,500
H 22 in W 24 in
Still Life with Grapes, Realist Oil on Canvas, Framed, Circa 1880
By Morston Constantine Ream
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Morston Constantine Ream (American, 1840-1898) Grapes Oil on canvas, 10 x 12 inches Framed: 22 x 24 inches (approx.) Signed at lower right: “Morston Ream” The still-life painter Mor...
Canvas, Oil
$1,850
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
$3,516Sale Price|20% Off
H 19.69 in W 17.92 in
Antique oil painting, Boy Fleaing a Dog, Gerard ter Borch, Dutch golden age
Located in DEVENTER, NL
Gerard ter Borch (II) (1617-1681), copy after, around 1700 'Boy Fleas a Dog' Oil on canvas Professionally restored (cleaned and relined) In modern frame in 17th century style Dimensions excl. frame: 33 x 27,5 cm. Dimensions incl. frame: approx. 50 x 45,5 cm. Depcited is a boy busy fleaing a dog. The boy sits on a chair with the dog on his lap. On a table on the right there is a book and a pen. On a wooden bench lies the boy's hat. What is unique about this painting by Ter Borch, is the relationship that is depicted between human and animal. Mostly animals like dogs where depicted as an attribute in paintings in the 17th century, and sometimes used to symbolize certain character traits. This boy is lovingly caring for his dog, which he is giving his full attention. Another interesting detail is that Ter Borch's brother Moses, was probably the model for this painting. Ter borch often used family members as models for his paintings. Moses was also a very talented painter and draughtsman. Several copies of this work by Ter Borch are known. One of these copies is in the collection of the Dutch Rijksmuseum (Image included in the image gallery (last image)). The original painting is in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek museum in Munich, Germany. Gerard ter Borch, also known as Gerard Terburg, was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu...
Canvas, Oil
$2,578
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
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
$19,850
H 25.88 in W 20.25 in D 3.5 in
A Very Fine Italian Oil on Canvas Titled "The Solo Violinist or Violin Teacher "
Located in LA, CA
A very fine Italian oil on canvas titled "The Solo Violinist" by Luigi Da Rios (Italian, 1844-1892), depicting an interior 18th century room scene of a single violinist player; withi...
Gesso, Canvas, Wood, Oil
$2,500
H 33.75 in W 41.75 in
Still Life with Decanter by Philadelphia Artist Larry Day, 1962
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Larry Day (American, 1921-1998) Still Life with Decanter Oil on canvas, 33 3/4 x 41 3/ 4 inches FRAMED: 41 x 49 inches (approx.) Signed at lower right: “Day” Exhibition label on str...
Canvas, Oil
Looking into the dining room
Located in Lexington, MA
Carole Rabe’s Looking into Dining Room is a beautifully composed 24 x 12 inch oil on canvas that transforms a simple domestic view into a meditative interior landscape. In this intim...
Canvas, Oil
$44,850Sale Price|30% Off
H 25.25 in W 20.25 in D 3.25 in
Fine Italian 17th Century Oil on Canvas Head of Jesus Christ Crowned with Thorns
By (circle of) Pierre Mignard
Located in LA, CA
A very fine Italian 17th century oval oil on canvas "Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns" Circle of Pierre Mignard (French, 1612-1695) within...
Oil, Canvas, Wood
$7,267
H 47.25 in W 47.25 in D 1.97 in
Mirror Room- 21st Century Contemporary Oil Painting of a Palace interior
By Sylvia Van Opstall
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Sylvia van Opstall Mirror Room 120 x 120 cm Framing is possible The artist Sylvia van Opstall comes from all kinds of "worlds that deal with design and classical painting," the des...
Canvas, Oil
Ibiza n°1
Located in PARIS, FR
Jacqueline Pavlowsky was born in 1921 in Vincennes to Russian and Polish Jewish parents who had emigrated to France. After the war, she pursued parallel studies in chemistry, while d...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Settee
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
Elderly Couple
By Charles E. Chambers
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Signature: Signed Lower Left Framed: 36.00" x 41.00"
Canvas, Oil